What Do I Do In Times Like These? (redo)
by kerklay
Summary: Same exact story, longer chapters. Each chapter is a day. Zoey just got voted off the island and wants Mike (or is it Mal?). Mal wants control and Mike wants to protect Zoey. But how can he if Mal won't let him? MikexZoeyxMal PLEASE REVIEW OR I WILL MAKE MAL TERRIBLY HURT ZOEY! xD Seriously, I'm tired of seeing the same number. Rated M for language.
1. Chapter 1: Day One

Chapter One

Zoey's P.O.V.

As soon as I was catapulted off the island, I began to look for Mike. As I ran, I heard footsteps other than mine. When I ran faster, they did too. When I slowed down to a light jog, they got louder, so I stopped in my tracks. Suddenly I was knocked off my feet and was being lifted up into someone's arms.

"Hi, Zoey." I know that voice! I looked up and saw a beautiful boy with dark, pointy hair and chocolate-colored eyes smiling back at me.

I practically shook with joy. "Mike!" I wrapped my arms around him and I never wanted to let go.

Mike finally put me down and I remembered the necklace he had given me.

"Mike, I need to tell you something," I said. "The necklace you had given me to remember you by... Chef was chasing me with his spicy spaghetti gun, and he got me, and I fell off the cliff, and I picked it up, and-"

He kissed me. Mike kissed me! We kissed for what seemed like years and eventually we pulled apart.

"I know what happened to it, Zoey. I watched you and your reaction. It was almost as if you had another personality of your own. You must be crazy to go after Chef like that, and I must say, he was terrified!"

Mike took a deep breath and Manitoba Smith came out saying, "Aye, I'm impressed with yer moves, lassie. One could mistake ya to be my galfriend! Bein' a woman, I don' think ya could handle such a job like that, though."

I was a little offended by that remark. "Hey!" He took another deep breath and the good ol' Mike was back in my arms.

"So, you're not mad?" I asked him.

"Of course I'm mad... At Chef for shooting you off a cliff with spicy spaghetti. But no, not with the necklace. That can be fixed." Mike grabbed my hands his his own, gazing into my eyes. "Anything can be fixed."

Mike walked me to his ride. He told be he had come here every night just so that he would be the first person I saw when I got voted off. "Not that I was thinking you would; I had no doubt in you."

His smile is the best!

Once I had gone inside my house for the first time in months, I saw my whole family greet Mike and I at the door.

A few hours after many hello's, Mike and I were able to escape into my room.

"So how was life away from Wawanakwa?" I asked.

"Well," said Mike, "it was a lot better than being at camp. It seemed to be very lonely, even though I was with my family. I missed you so much, Zoey."

Mike grabbed my hands and kissed me once again. It didn't last as long, but it was long enough to make any father uncomfortable, especially mine.

I had to pull away; it was getting intense.

"Heh-heh, sorry," he said. "I've been wanting to kiss you since the day I saw you, and now I'm getting a little carried away." He scratched the back of his head out of nervousness.

Mike got up from my bed and went to my dresser where my music box was. He pointed to it and looked at me asking, "May I?"

I nodded. He played it and the song New Light by Michele McLaughlin started playing. I watched him as he started to smile; he liked it.

When it was finished playing, Mike looked at me and said, "That's beautiful, Zoey. Do you know the name of it?"

"No, but I wish I did. It was my grandfather's. He was going to give it to my grandma, but she passed away before she got it. So he gave it to me saying, 'you're my new light.'"

Mike smiled even bigger. "That's what the song is called. New Light." He played it again.

While it played, he moved to my hamster. "That's Flappy," I said. "He's getting old. Does he need fed?"

Mike looked at his bowl. "His bowl is empty," he said.

I got up and put hamster food in his cage. I stood there, watching Flappy begin eating right away.

"Will you go on a date with me?" Mike asked. I looked at him and saw that he was watching me.

I smiled as I said, "Of course I will!" I threw my arms around him and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

Mike laughed and hugged me close.

We stayed like that, holding each other, listening to the music that had stopped playing as it played in our heads.

Mike took a deep breath and let go of me. "What's wrong?" I asked.

"Nothing is," he replied. "Everything is perfect. You're perfect. Follow me."

He turned around and went to my window. As he grabbed the sides of my window, he turned and looked back at me.

"Well? Are you coming?" I looked at him, confused.

"Coming where?" I asked. He just turned away again and jumped down. "Mike!" I yelled. I ran to the window and found him waiting for me there at the bottom.

"Jump, Zoey! I'll catch you!" He mumbled something, but I didn't hear it.

I jumped out the window and true to his word, he caught me. I looked at his eyes and something was off. Mike set me down and began walking toward the street. I followed, wondering what in the world he was doing.

As we turned right, I asked him, "Where are we going?"

Mike glanced at me and back away, ignoring my question.

After fifty or so minutes of walking, we ended up at a house. The bedroom we entered was at the back of the house on the first floor. The walls were a light green color and the bed was by a window.

"Wow," I stated. I looked at a ballerina picture above the bed. "Is this your room?"

I looked at Mike, who was digging through the closet. He looked at me and said, "Yes. Welcome to my home." He turned back to whatever he was doing.

After about ten minutes of me looking around and him running around his room, Mike left through the bedroom door with a duffle bag.

I left the room a minute later to look for Mike and I found him in the kitchen on the floor unconscious. I saw a puddle of water under him, and followed the trail to a knocked-over cup.

I ran to him and shook his shoulders. As I called his name, he stirred. "Mal..."

"Mal?" I repeated. "Mike, wake up!"

Mike took a deep breath and bolted upright. "Zoey! Oh... What happened?"

"I don't know," I replied. "You jumped out my window and brought me here, then you started packing." I pointed to the duffle bag. "Mike, who's Mal?"

Mike reached for the bag and took a peak inside. "Oh, no..."

I tried to look in. "What is it?" I asked.

He zipped it shut. "Uh... Nothing. Heh-heh..."

I reached for the bag and opened it completely. I pulled out two sleeping bags, a blanket, a rope, two flashlights, extra batteries, and a knife.

"Mike," I said, "what is this? Who is Mal?"

Mike has Multiple Personality Disorder. Other than him, he has four other personas that I know about. They are named Manitoba Smith, Svetlana, Vito, and Chester. When he is about to change, he takes a deep breath and bulges out his eyes. While another persona is in control, Mike doesn't seem to remember what happened in that time. There is always a way to tell each one apart.

Manitoba Smith is a risky Australian adventurer. He is usually triggered by a hat, typically a fedora. He has a thick Australian accent and can track anything just by observing the ground below his feet. He is very cocky and witty, with a hint of being sexist. He also doesn't like to eat any carbs.

Svetlana is a Russian gymnast and is Mike's only female personality. She is triggered by her name or simply the word 'Olympian.' She is very helpful with her athletic skills and flexibility. She has, like Manitoba, a thick Russian accent. She revealed herself to be a vegetarian.

Chester is Mike's old-man personality. He is typically, simply a grumpy old man. He is triggered by Mike getting frustrated. When he appears, his back becomes hunched over, his face becomes wrinkled-looking, and he shuts one of his eyes. He is mostly useful for just complaining about the kids the days.

Finally, there's Vito. He likes to be tough and aggressive. He's triggered by Mike losing his shirt. He enjoys picking fights, flirting with chics and obsessing over himself. He tends to be lazy and a little clueless at times. He is an Italian that only eats meat.

Mike sighed. "Mal is another persona of mine. He's... not like the others. He can be very artistic, to say. If he comes back, promise me you won't fall into his charms."

"Mike, Vito and Manitoba can't charm me. You do," I replied.

Mike looked me in the eyes. "Zoey, promise me."

"Okay, okay," I said. "I won't fall into his charms." I smiled trying to make him cheer up. As soon as I saw that cute gap between his teeth, I kissed his cheek and helped him up off the floor.

"How about this," I began, "I'll help you clean up and after, we can go out to the real world and do something fun."

Mike smiled again. "That sounds great. Would you mind cleaning up this water? I'll pick up the rest of it."

He grabbed me a towel, and after, started on the supplies Mal got out.

"What do you think he was going to do with this stuff?" I asked him.

"I don't really know," said Mike. "Like I said, he's very crafty, and I would rather you not trust him."

I started to think about something. "Mike, how could I be able to tell him apart from you? He looked and sounded just like you. I mean, the others have their differences, but what about Mal?"

By this time, we were already on our way heading into town. Mike was leading and I didn't know where we were going.

"Mal is known as The Malevolent One to the other personalities. Before I met my adopted parents, he got us sent to the same juvy center as Duncan from Season One, Two, and Three and became one of the most dangerous inmates at the time. At some point after juvy, I was able to take control of Mal and I sealed him away in my subconscious. He has dark circles around his eyes, which you can only see if you look closely, along with a deep voice. He has his hair normally covering the left eye, unless he is acting like me. Mal is smart, strong, and very perceptive of other people. Once he sets his mind to something, there is very little that can stop him. Along with that, he know Spanish very well. He's not, just knows it."

Once Mike was finished telling me about Mal, I was quiet for a while. I didn't know what to do or say. Then I figured it out.

"I had a lonely childhood. My mom died giving birth to me and my grandma died of old age when I was seven, so my dad raised me. I was always picked on in school and so I had, really, no friends. My story probably isn't as crazy as yours, but it's definitely a different one. I learned how to use a sling shot when I was little, and used it for self-defense and scaring off snakes. My grandpa taught me how to use the bow and arrow, so that's how I got so good at them. Since I had no friends, I would always rely on my imagination to keep me occupied. I would go running, swimming, ride my bike, climb trees, and jump from tree to tree, one rooftop the next. I was lonely, but I was happy."

Mike listened with great care as I told him about my childhood. We didn't say much for the rest of the time. By now, we had entered town and he was leading the way with me still having no clue as to where we were going.

Mike's P.O.V.

Being with Zoey makes me giddy and one of the things I like to do while I feel that way is to skate. She's a smart girl, I'm almost positive she knew where we were going.

I took ahold of her hand and began lead her to our town's only skating rink. Zoey looked at me and smiled the most beautiful smile and I felt my heart almost jump out of my chest.

Fifteen minutes went by in a comfortable silence and finally, I opened the rink's door.

"What a gentleman," she giggled.

"For you, Zoey, I'll be anything." I smiled at her sweet face.

We got our boot sizes and put them on. I was finished before she was and once she made her last knot, I grabbed her left hand and put it up to my mouth, kissing it.

I helped her up and pulled her to the hardwood floor. I could tell by the way she was uneasy in the floor that she was a terrible skater and this was going to be fun.

"I'm a pretty great skater," she lied. "Just watch and I'll show you."

I knew she was lying, but I want along with it anyway. I let go of her hand and not twelve seconds later, she had fallen. I quickly skated over to her.

"Oh my gosh, Zoey! Are you okay?" She began giggling as I helped her up.

"I'm *giggle* fine, Mike." She giggled some more.

I led her around the rink and something began tugging on me. I gasped and suddenly I was back inside my head. I looked around and saw Manitoba Smith, Svetlana, and Chester playing cards.

"Oh, no... Where's Mal?" I asked them. I was worried he got out.

"The kookaburra's in his room," Manitoba said. I sighed.

'That must mean Vito got out,' I thought to myself. I didn't even think about him. Vito!?

Zoey's P.O.V.

Mike helped me up from the floor. I began giggling to hide my embarrassment. As he led me around the room, I looked over and saw his shirt get caught on a nail sticking out of the wall.

"Mike, your sh-." He took a deep breath.

Slicking back his hair, the Italian pulled his hand away from mine as if I had a terrible disease. "Ey, Red, get your hands off the Vit- I LOVE THIS SONG!"

Some song I've never heard before came on over the speakers. Vito yelled at the D.J., "Ey, yo, turn this up!" He did, allowing Vito to skate to the middle of the floor.

I watched as he began moving along with the fast-paced song. He started out with the shuffle. As people began watching, he began to glide, finishing that move with a knee drop. Once he started to do the Charleston, everyone was watching, cheering him on. He ended the song with break dancing and finally a back flip.

Everybody, along with the D.J. and myself, started cheering and screaming for him. I truly have no idea how he did all that with skates on, but it was amazing. I began to wonder that since Vito was just one of Mike's personalities, if Mike was even better than him. The thought made me curious.

I skated over to the concession stands to grab us a drink. I looked over and saw Vito flirting with some blonde. "Miss?"

I looked back at the man at the counter, saying, "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"I said is there anything else I can get you?"

I looked at the wall behind him and saw a gray sweatshirt with skates on the front. "I'll take that shirt, please." The man took it down and gave me the total.

I paid, bringing the drinks over to Vito. He took it, saying, "Thanks, babe."

As he took a sip, I pulled the shirt on over his head. He took a deep breath, bringing Mike back.

"Thanks, Zoey. Do you want to get out of here?" He asked me.

I laughed, saying, "Oh, yeah."

I took a drink and grabbed his hand. We took off our boots and left after grabbing Mike's shirt. As we were going out the door, he threw the ripped shirt in the trash.

"I like this one better, anyway," he said, smiling. I giggled, knowing that he really hated it.

Since it was closer, Mike brought me back to his house. He held the door open for me, then took me to his room.

I laid on his bed. "Ah-ah-ah," said Mike. "No shoes on the bed." I giggled, taking them off. Mike laid next to me, not taking his shoes off.

"What happened to no shoes on the bed?" I asked.

It's my bed," he replied, kicking them off.

I laughed at his goofy-ness, stood up, and turned on the radio that laid on his dresser. I pulled him up off the bed and stood in front of him. I grabbed his right hand with my left, placing my right on his shoulder and his left on my waist and we danced.

We were gazing into each other's eyes when Mike said, "Oh, Zoey... You didn't even have to say hello; you had me right before."

I smiled and put my head on his chest. He rested his chin on my head saying, "Zoey?"

"Hm?" He laughed. "Chester and Svetlana are dancing."

I couldn't help but to burst out laughing. I looked at the clock. 10:42. "Mike?"

"Hm?"

"It's late."

"No..."

I giggled. "Mike-"

Mike grabbed my chin and tiled my head up to where we were looking at each other in the eyes. "Stay?" he asked.

My heat was pounding so hard, I just knew he could hear it. "Okay..." I replied, love-struck.

Mike slowly leaned down and very lightly touched my lips with his. I got goosebumps; he really knows how to get a girl to fall into him.

He let go of my chin and grabbed ahold of my hands, leading me to his bed. He laid down, pulling me down with him. I put my head on his chest and my arm across his body, Mike putting his arm on my lower back.

'I love you, Mike,' I thought. I was too scared to tell him.

Mike's P.O.V.

'I love you, Zoey,' I thought. I was too scared to tell her.

As I was laying under Zoey, I began to feel her breathing become deep and slow. She fell asleep on me. I grinned and did my best to not move a muscle. Why would you want to wake a sleeping angel? I was so happy, I didn't want to fall asleep, so I thought back to what would have been our first kiss.

'Maybe we have enough time for a kiss?' I asked. I watched Zoey smile the most beautiful smile of all time. I slowly leaned in as she leaned foreword, ready to lock her lips with mine. All of a sudden, I was being thrown through the air. I landed miles away in the water, so I had to swim to shore. I began to feel frustrated at Chris; damning him for not allowing our kiss. The more frustrated I got, the faster I could feel Chester coming, and I wasn't going to let him out. He can't swim. Well he can, but he terribly sucks. Once I got to shore, I realized that Chris was actually kind enough to aim the catapult just a quarter mile from the land that takes you home and he even arranged a car to drive us home. I was actually impressed. Before I got in the car, I stayed at the edge of the water, staring back towards Wawanakwa. If I stared hard enough, I could see a faint outline of the island. As I looked, I thought about how close I was to getting an Angel's Kiss. I sat down, pulling my legs up, putting my elbows on my knees, and my head in my hands. After God knows how long, I felt a tap on my shoulder. 'Sir?' I looked up and saw my chauffeur holding out a tissue. That's when I realized I was crying. I took it, smiling. 'Thank you,' I said to him. He asked me if I was ready to go home. I told him I was, standing up.

I yawned, finishing my flashback. Zoey stirred and I made mental note not to yawn again. I could feel myself drifting off to sleep. I was pulled inside my head, ready to go to my mental bedroom. Before I did, I decided to check on my friends.

Chester's room was first. I glanced in seeing him asleep on his bed. His walls were a gray color with little decoration. His cane was leaning on his bedpost with his slippers next to it. He had a deck of cards lying on top of his wooden dresser with a tall lamp standing next to it.

Next in line was Svetlana's. Her walls were a pale purple and covered with awards, medals, and pictures of her favorite gymnasts. She had shelves with several trophies sitting on top. Her rug was a multicolored shag and her empty bed was also multicolored. Wait, then where was she? I shrugged it off, continuing on.

Across the way was Vito's room. He had red walls that was full of posters of automotives and girls. I saw him laying on his bed, arms under his head, and listening to music. His room was very messy, though I've told him a thousand times to clean it.

Next to his was Manitoba Smith's. He had his walls painted to look like the forest, his shaggy floor a dark green to look like grass. He had a dark blue ceiling with sparkles sprayed on to represent the night sky. I found Svetlana sitting next to him on the floor on front of his bed. They were talking to each other, laughing and having good time enjoying each other's company. I left them alone, heading to the room the others hate.

Mal's room. It was a ways down the hall, in front of mine. I thought it was nice to move in next to him, and he always seemed to appreciate it. His door was almost closed, just cracked open. I peeked in, seeing his black room. Other than his floor; that was white. He we lying on his bed, facing the wall with his back to me. I silently sighed and backed away to my room. The moment my head hit the pillow, I was out.

Mal's P.O.V.

I was laying on my bed with my left hand behind my head, the other throwing a small ball up on the air, then catching it repeatedly. Suddenly, I heard footsteps coming. I quickly caught the ball and turned over on my side, facing the wall. I knew it was that imbecile, Mike. He always 'checks' on me every day and every night just to make sure I'm being a 'good boy.' Kid makes me want to throw up. After a good seventeen seconds, he finally left me in peace, heading back to his own tacky blue room. I waited a few more minutes, then quietly snuck out. Walking to his door, I looked behind it, making sure he was asleep. I saw his scrawny figure sprawled out on his bed. Grabbing his doorknob, I closed his door then locked it, making sure he wasn't getting out for a while. Chuckling, I took a deep breath, taking control of the body.

'Finally, I'm out of that hell hole,' I thought to myself. I opened my eyes to find a girl, the same one from earlier, lying on top of me.


	2. Chapter 2: Day Two

Chapter Two

Mal's P.O.V.

'Who is this girl?' I thought. She turned her sleeping face up towards mine. She had a sweet face, with black makeup around her eyes. Her hair was a beautiful shade of bright red, pulled back in low pigtails. Clipped in her hair was a big pink flower. 'Well, she is pretty.' Later on in the night, I glanced at the time and saw it was 6:17 a.m. Time to get up.

I pushed her off me and much thanks to gravity, she fell off the bed. That was a complete accident; Mike's bed was so small.

"Hey!" She complied. I put my left hand to my forehead and cracked up laughing. I couldn't resist myself.

"Wait a second..." she said. "Mal?"

I stopped laughing. Glaring and pointing my finger at her, I asked, "How do you know me?"

"Mike told me about you. Why did you push me off the bed?"

"Actually, I pushed you off me. You fell off the bed on your own account." I smiled at the memory.

She looked at the time. "Why are we up so early?" She rubbed her head, probably where it hit the floor.

"The more you're up, the more mischief you can create," I replied. "Why do you ask so many questions? Who ARE you, anyway?"

"My name is Zoey. I'm Mike's girlfriend," she said.

'Mike has a girlfriend?' I thought. I chuckled to myself. 'This is going to be fun.'

"Come on, Zoey, let's go get some breakfast," I told her. I was trying to act nice, so later on, I can completely throw her off. I took ahold of her wrist and led her to the kitchen.

Zoey's P.O.V.

'Mal doesn't seem so bad...' I thought. He grabbed my wrist and pulled me to their kitchen, right around the corner.

As we entered the kitchen, he asked, "What do you want?" The way he said it was like he was just saying it instead of asking.

I grabbed an apple and said, "Mike told me you're an artist. What kind?"

He glared at me. "Surrealist."

"Oh, isn't that the really fake-and-real-at-the-same-time one?" I looked at him. His eyes had dark circles under them, hair laid over his left eye, and his voice was deep. Just like the way Mike had described him.

Mal sighed. Probably because of my illiteracy of art. "What do you want?" He asked again. This time, he wasn't asking what I wanted to eat.

I shrugged, noticing he wasn't eating anything. "Just trying to make small talk." I smiled at him.

"Well, don't. It's irritating." He crossed his arms and rolled his eyes, ignoring my smile.

Finishing my apple, I tossed it in the trash and crossed my arms, saying, "Okay, what do you want?"

He smirked. "Come on."

I rolled my eyes and followed him out the door. I remembered the last time he tried to make me go with him and what Mike said after he came back.

'I would rather you not trust him.'

We walked in complete silence, since Mal apparently gets 'irritated' by small talk. I had to squint because it was still a little dark. Finally, just as it began to get lighter, we arrived at our destination. The coffee shop.

Mal went in first, not bothering to hold the door open like Mike did. 'What a gentleman,' I thought.

"Spilled Beans? Why here?" I asked him.

He shrugged. "I want coffee."

Since it was still early in the morning, there weren't many people; mostly the older folk.

Walking up to the cash register, he pulled out his wallet, saying, "Medium coffee. Black."

"One seventy-five," the lady said. He put down a dollar bill.

She looked at the bill then back at him. "One SEVENTY-FIVE, please."

Mal glared at her and I saw her eyes widen. "Th-thank you, sir..." He grinned; I stood there with my mouth open. I can't believe he just did that! The lady gave him his coffee and he turned away, walking to a table. I watched him, mouth still open. I mentally shook myself and pulled out seventy-five cents from my coin purse. I gave it to the lady, winked, and saw her smile.

'Thank you,' she mouthed. I smile, nodded, then joined Mal at the table.

As I sat down, I looked at him and said, "I can't believe you just did that."

He took a sip of his coffee and glared at me. "So?"

I glared back, challenging him. "It wasn't right."

He grinned, saying, "You have guts. Any other girl- Exhibit A-," he pointed to the cashier lady, "would be scared of me. You challenged me. I approve. Mike sure does know how to pick 'em."

"I'm not like any other girl," I said, winking at him.

"Did you just flirt with me?" Mal said, squinting his eyes.

"Wha-, n-no! I was... just..." Ugh! I hate it when boys do that! You can never find a way out of there! "I was NOT flirting. If anything, YOU were."

He chuckled. "Too easy."

I pursed my lips and crossed my arms. After four minutes of sitting in silence, I was beginning to get bored. Using my fingers as drumsticks, I began to drum my fingers on the table.

Mal put his hand over them, saying, "Stop. Geeze, if you're bored, tell me. Don't be annoying."

"Are you TRULY evil?" I asked him. "I mean, what you did wasn't right, but you don't seem too bad."

He smirked, stood up, and went to throw his cup away. But instead of putting it in the trash, he leaned down, set it one the floor, then left the shop. I got up to leave, but before I was out the door, I picked up the cup and put it in the trash.

"Evil enough four you?" He asked me as I stepped outside.

"That wasn't really evil," I replied. "More like ru-"

I felt a hand on my throat and I was thrown up against the wall. Mal glared at me, leaned in, and whispered in my ear, "How about now?"

My heart began beating, hard. I glared back, saying, "You don't scare me, Mal."

He let go and took a step back. "Yes I do." He pulled out his knife and looked down at it. Without raising his head, he glanced up at me. "I can see it in your pretty brown eyes."

I felt my eyes widen and he cackled like a maniac, putting the knife away. I glared once more, pushed him away, and walked off in the other direction.

I didn't know where I was going. I did know that Mal was following me; probably several steps away. I can picture him smirking at me. I wanted to punch his dark face, but I knew if I did, I would probably be hurting Mike more than him.

Mal's P.O.V.

When Zoey said she wasn't scared of me, I felt a light pain in my throat. I took a step back and pulled out my knife. I wasn't really going to hurt my new toy, I just wanted to play with her first. If I was going to act nice, I was going to have to try harder than that. She pushed me away and walked off ahead of me. I grinned at what I had done to my new pet.

Mike's P.O.V.

I woke up, ready to see my girlfriend. I sighed. Girlfriend. I just can't get enough of that word. Smiling, I stood up to leave my room, but when I got to the door, it was locked. At first, I was simply confused, but as I kept pulling and trying, my heart was beating harder and harder. I was making so much noise with my door, I woke Chester; and he is not someone you want up this early in the morning.

"Hey, keep it down," he yelled, "I'm trying to get some shut eye in here!"

I yelled through the door, "Svetlana! Manny! Vito! Somebody! My door is locked! Hey!" I pounded on the door.

"Vut eez all zis vuckus about?" I heard a girl say.

"Svetlana!" I exclaimed. "Can you open my door? I think it's locked." I could hear her pulling and tugging on the door, but it stayed.

"'old on Mike, Manny's coming. 'e vill get you out uv zere."

"G'day, Beauty." I can picture him tipping his fedora at her. "What's goin' on in this territory?"

"Mike's door eez locked. Can you open eet?"

"Well, way to go, Mike. Leave it to a woman to unlock a door for ya. Pfft, typical. Don' you worry; I'll get ya outta there faster than a rat in a cobra hole. -ENUGH-!"

Manitoba must have thrown his body against the door because it caved inward, but didn't open.

"Well meat me up and call me a dingo's dinner. Mike, we may need to bring out the Vito."

"Vito's still here? NO! That means Mal has control! I bet he did this, too! Mal, when I get out of here, you are going to pay! You hear me? Don't you DARE touch Zoey!"

"Ey yo, what's all this yellin' about?" Vito asked. "I can't do any sleepin' with all this noise."

Svetlana answered. "Mal got out, Mike eez locked een 'iz room, and ve can't open ze door."

"Yo, that's cuz you're doin' it wrong," he replied. Yelling through the door, he said, "Stand back, bro, I got this." I stood back several feet from the door, slightly worried.

*CRUNCH* My door handle jiggled. *BOOM* My door slammed forward to the floor. Vito literally kicked it in. I looked down at the door. There was a hole in the middle and the knob was just barely hanging by a loose screw. I looked back up. Svetlana was practically jumping up and down, clapping her hands, Manitoba Smith was slightly bent over with his jaw dropped, and Vito was standing up straight with a smirk on his face, flexing his right arm.

Everything was dead silent until I whispered, "What did you do to the doorknob?"

His smirk got bigger. "I elbowed it."

I nodded my approval. "Nice."

"Ey, it was nothin'. Sorry about the door."

I walked over the door to leave my room. "Thanks, guys. And that's okay, Vito. It can be fixed."

Manitoba snapped out of it. "Mate, that board is the least of his worries. The jackalope has his Sheila!"

Mal's P.O.V.

I walked faster, catching up to Zoey. Still smirking, I asked, "What do you want to do?"

She stayed silent, glaring at the air in front of her. I grabbed her arm, roughly, and turned her to face me. "Answer me."

"I want to talk to Mike," she spat.

I chuckled. "Can't. I locked him in his room. It's my turn for freedom and I'm going to take full advantage of it."

She jerked her arm out of my hand. "Freedom is neither stealing, littering, nor scaring a girl half to death."

"I thought I don't scare you?" I looked into her eyes. For a half second, I actually felt something human, but I pushed it away. I don't really care about how people feel, or even feelings in general.

"You don't," she replied.

I looked at her with a confused look, though I wasn't. "But, you just said-,"

"Leave me alone, Mal!" She yelled, throwing her hands up.

I laughed. 'Am I wearing off on her already?' I thought. This was going to be easier than I suspected. I think I might just bug her. Make things too awkward for her to answer. I chuckled at my new devious plan.

"How do you feel about Mike?" I glanced over at her.

"Excuse me?"

I repeated. "I said, how do you feel about Mike?"

"Why are you asking me this?"

I groaned for show. I was actually enjoying this. "Oh for God's sa-."

"I like him."

"Be specific."

She was quiet for a couple of seconds, thinking. "I like the way he can always make me smile."

I mentally gagged.

"I like how nice he is to Cam, and the fact that he's a total sweetheart." She put her hands together, setting them under her chin.

"Do you love him?" I was beginning to get bored.

"What?"

"You heard me."

"Well... I, uh... I guess, maybe... I mean, we just haven't known each other long enough for me to develop that strong of a feeling for him."

I smirked. "It was a simple yes or no question. You didn't have to make it complicated."

Her cheeks were beginning to turn pink. "I'm sure one day I will. It may be a little difficult, though, with Vito."

I nodded, acting like I really cared. I didn't. "Ah, Vito. The flirtatious one. Doesn't it bother you that your own boyfriend could be cheating on you whenever you're not looking?"

She looked down. "I know that Mike would never cheat on me. Even if he was, I would know that he's Vito."

"Would you sleep with him?" That was really going to throw her off.

Her eyes shot open in the upmost surprise. "Excuse me?"

"My lord, are you deaf? Why do I have to keep repeating myself?"

"I don't think that's going to happen for a while."

"Why not?"

"Why are you asking me these questions?" She looked at me.

"I'm curious." I glanced over at her and our eyes locked. They really are quite pretty. I'm pleased I finally got control back. Mike shouldn't be the one to get a girl like this; it should be me! Wait... What? Did I really just think that? I'm not developing feelings for Zoey. I refuse! I would rather swim with jelly fish. She is too sweet for my taste.

All of a sudden, the weather changed from a bright, sunny day (barf) to a rainy one. Much more my style.

"Aw!" Zoey complained. She put her arms over head as if she could block the rain. I slipped off my jacket and handed it over to her. She took it with complete confusion and slipped it on. "Thanks, Mal..." She trailed off. I realized what I just did. I felt my eyes widen and I quickly looked away. Why did I do that? Normally, I would have pulled the hood up and laughed at their bad luck, but instead I gave it away. And it felt so natural, too.

Zoey's P.O.V.

The weather suddenly switched from sun to rain. I complained and put my arms up over my head. Why didn't I grab a hoodie before we left my house yesterday? To my complete surprise, Mal took off his jacket and gave it to me. I thanked him, wondering if he actually just did that. One moment, he's bugging me and the next, he's a gentleman? What was up with that? His eyes grew wide and he looked away. I guess he surprised himself as much as he did me.

"This is to never be spoken of," he stated. I laughed out loud. He shot a glare over at me and my laughing stopped. Every couple of seconds, a giggle would escape my lips.

After the sixth accidental giggle, Mal grabbed my forearm and turned me toward him, stopping us both in our tracks. Grinding his teeth, he narrowed his eyes at me, threatening, "Laugh one more time, and I will slowly cut out your tongue." No more giggles came after that.

Mal's P.O.V.

Well, so much for that plan. She just irks me! I'm quite impressed; not many people can do that.

Mike's P.O.V.

I was sitting on my knees, disappointed that I couldn't gain back control after a full hour of trying. I began thinking about Zoey. What was going on in the real world? Is she okay? Is Mal doing anything with her? Is he doing anything TO her?

"Get up, you salami head."

I flinched, startled. I didn't hear him com up behind me. I looked behind me to find Chester leaning on his cane.

"Chester! You scared me!" I stood up and walked to where he was standing. "What's up?"

"The brat wants to talk to you," he replied.

"Vito?" I asked, confused. "Why didn't he just come to me?"

"No, you knucklehead; Mal! Mal wants to talk to you. He's in the Main Brain." The Main Brain is the room where we all go to sit and talk. Almost like a living room, but in brain form.

I walked (slowly) with the old man to the Main Brain. Everybody else was in there, spread out, sitting on the couches. Our mirror, that the one in control used sometimes, was up in the middle of the room with Mal standing in it. Vito sat in the blue sofa on the far right and Svet was sitting in the brown one on the left with Manny leaning on it behind her. I sat down next to Chester on the gray one in the middle. He put his feet up on the small table in front of him.

Mal spoke first, looking at me and Chester. "Took you long enough."

Vito was next. "Okay, we're all here, what do you want?"

Mal smirked. "I just wanted to congratulate Vito for his strength and precision. I thought I had that door locked good and tight. Since I do not have a hat to tip my approval to you, Manitoba, would you do the honors?"

Manitoba Smith narrowed his eyes at Mal, saying, "Just get on with it, jackalope."

Mal raised an eyebrow. "Jackalope. That's a new one. Anyway, Mike, I was talking to your girlfriend, Zoey-,"

"What did you do to her!?" I screamed.

He laughed. "Don't worry. I haven't done a thing. Yet." I quickly stood, but before I could get all the way up, Chester grabbed my arm and pulled me back down.

Continuing, he said, "I thought maybe you should have a chat with her." He chuckled. "I mean, she's pretty annoyed. My fault."

I quickly took that chance to take back control before Mal changed his mind. I found Zoey sitting behind me on a back-to-back park bench. He was right- she seemed pretty bugged. Her arms and legs were crossed and she was glaring ahead of her. I put my hand on her shoulder.

"Mal, say one more word and I swear to God I'll-,"

"Zoey?" I said, quietly.

She gasped, turning around. "Mike? Oh, thank goodness it's you!" She threw her arms around me with a little trouble, seeing as we were still on opposite sides of the bench. I smiled, putting my arms around her back.

"Why am I wet?" I noticed that I was soaked from head to toe.

Zoey let go. "You will never believe this: for just a moment, Mal was a gentleman." She was right; I didn't. "Once it started raining, he gave me your jacket. I think he even surprised himself in the process."

I looked at her and saw she was still wearing it. Then I looked around, taking in my environment. The weather was pouring rain, with a slight chill and we were in a park, sitting under a gazebo.

I let go of Zoey and asked, "What did Mal do to make you so put off?"

Just a small part of her smile lessened as she said, "He was just being rude. What happened with you?" Her brows creased.

I told her about how Mal locked me in my room and the trouble my personalities had trying to open it.

"Oh, and trust me," I warned her, "you never, NEVER want to wake Chester."

She giggled and I felt a pang in my chest. I love her giggle. It's the sweetest sound I can ever remember hearing. She moved across to my side of the bench and put her head on my shoulder, while I threw my arm around hers.

"Wow," she stated. "I never realized how much can happen in just two days. Crazy, huh?"

"Yeah," I replied. "Pretty crazy."

I began to grin like a fool, thanking the universe for Zoey. My Zoey; only my Zoey. I'm not going to let any man take her away from me. I feel protective over her and I will do anything to keep her from harm. I leaned down and kissed her head, and she snuggled in closer to me. We stayed sitting there, listening to the rain, until it was so dark, we could only see the outline of things. Suddenly, I heard my stomach growl and Zoey laughed.

"What have I had to eat today?" I asked.

Zoey glanced up at me. "Nothing, actually."

'So now Mal's trying to starve me? Typical,' I thought. I frowned, saying, "How about we go get something?"

She nodded. "What are you in the mood for?"

I grinned. "I have a craving for a special kind of sandwich."

I stood and held my hand out to her, helping her up. We walked hand-in-hand to my house to grab my bike. I could tell she walked all day and my legs were tired, too. Once we were there, I opened the garage door and looked at Zoey. Her mouth fell open.

"Is that yours?" She asked me, pointing to it. I smiled as she took in my bike. A genuine black Harley.

"Yep. That's my beauty. I mean, other than you," I began to ramble on like a dork, but I stopped myself. "Would you like to ride her?" I asked, swinging my leg over the side.

She nodded and got on behind me. I handed her my helmet. As I watched her put in on, I smiled at her gorgeousness and she smiled back at me. I turned it on and revved the engine to impress her. It worked; she laughed and threw her arms around me, ready to ride. I backed us out of the driveway. Once we were turned around, I took off. She silently screeched and I smiled wider, enjoying the feel of her arms wrapped tightly around my torso.

I took the scenic route for Zoey and we finally pulled into Doug's Sandwich Shop. I balanced the Harley on it's kickstand and Zoey hopped off. She handed me the helmet and I hung it on one of the handlebars, getting off myself.

"Go on ahead; I'm going to check the oil," I told her.

Mal's P.O.V.

I tormented the little peons for a while and they eventually left me on my own. I stayed in the Main Brain, watching Zoey and the twerp, since he forgot to put the mirror back down. Mike was making her happy. I frowned. I needed to end this. I was just about to take control until I saw her put a motorcycle helmet on. I froze, staring at her beauty. She looked dangerous and lovely at the same time. Her picture stayed in my head; I mentally shook myself and saw they had stopped. I took the chance to gain control and noticed I was leaning on on knee, facing the oil gauge. Standing up, I looked around, taking in my surroundings. There was a sign on the building that said 'Doug's Sandwich Shop' and Zoey was walking toward the door. A car came out of nowhere and sped around the corner. I followed the path it was about to take and my eyes landed on Zoey. Without thinking, I ran as fas as I could and pulled her out of the way, just in time for the car to speed by. We rolled to the side with me landing on top of her. Our eyes opened and they locked, silencing us both.

She noticed my hair over my face and quietly said, "Mal... you... thank you..." She giggled. "This is so cliché."

My eyes were still locked on hers, my heart began beating hard, I felt a lump in my throat, and my mouth became dry. I looked at her face, taking it all in. Her red hair was slightly over her wide, brown eyes and her nose was crinkled from her smile. She had a light spray of freckles over her nose that I hadn't noticed there before. I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came out.

She giggled again and said, "How about we go get something to eat?" She gestured her head toward the door, since her arms were still between us. I didn't move; I couldn't. I was still locked to her. Her expression switched to confusion. "Mal?"

I snapped out of it, grunted, and pushed myself off her.

Zoey's P.O.V.

One moment, Mike is telling me to go inside and the next, Mal is lying on top of me. Everything went by in a blur: I heard a horn then Mal jumped on me, pulling me down out of the way of danger. We rolled to the side and eventually stopped with him on top of me and that's when I noticed his hair, seeing him as Mal instead of Mike. At first, I was scared, but I quickly relaxed. I tried talking to him, but I wasn't sure he heard me. He stayed silent, frozen even, staring at me. I saw worry in his eyes, which soon came to relief. Something in them seemed different, lighter. He didn't look as dark and evil as before. I became confused, wondering if he was changing. I tried to unfreeze him by saying his name and it worked: he pushed himself off me.

To my surprise, Mal held his hand down at me, as if to help me up. Okay, something was definitely different. I took hold of it and he pulled me up.

"Thank you," I repeated.

"Don't mention it," he replied. He was still staring at me, but not as intently as before. He didn't seem to realize he still had my hand, so I pulled it back, feeling a pang in my chest that I usually felt for Mike.

"Let's go inside," I said.

He followed me in and we ordered our sandwiches. I paid in thanks for what he did for me. I looked out the window, wondering how late it was. I hoped Mal- I mean, Mike doesn't get in trouble for being out so long. I glanced around, finding a clock to check the time. 8:30 p.m. Okay, so it's not too late. I moved my eyes to Mal's and saw he was watching me.

I had to break the silence. "Won't you get in trouble?"

He creased his brows. "For what?" He asked.

"We've been out all day. I mean, you'd think your parents would be worried, right?"

He chuckled. "Are you worried for me, red?"

"Well, no... I-"

"I live for trouble, Zoey. It's what I do. I don't care if Mike's parents yell at me."

I closed my mouth, staying silent for the rest of the meal. I thought about the events that happened today and I began wondering why Mike didn't get to keep control for very long. And why was Mal the only one taking control? What even triggers him to come out?

We finished eating and Mal offered to take me home since we were far from it. I accepted and he brought me to Mike's Harley. I was surprised to find Mal could turn it on.

I got on behind him and asked, "Do you know how to drive this?"

He handed me the helmet, smirking at me through the mirror. "Of course I do. It was my idea to get it in the beginning." He dropped his smile and took off. I had to quickly throw my arms around him for fear of flying off.

"Mal?" I yelled over the deafening wind.

He smiled bigger as we sped faster. "Yes, my pet?"

"I'm not your pet! Can you slow down?"

He laughed. "But why? Are you not enjoying the rush?"

Okay, maybe I was a little, but my brain kept telling me otherwise. To my relief- and displeasure-, he slowed to the speed limit.

"Where do you live?" He asked me. I almost didn't answer so he wouldn't know, but I knew I had to go home. I pointed the way and after a couple minutes, we arrived.

As he pulled in my driveway, I got off the bike. I didn't know what to do, so I handed him back the helmet, saying, "Thanks... again." I looked at his dark eyes and for half a moment, my heart dropped. I noticed his brows- well, brow, since the other was covered- slightly creased.

"Bye," I said. He glanced down, backed away the bike, and took off down the right side of the street. I watched him drive off until I couldn't see him any longer.

I turned around and went inside to find my dad asleep on the couch. I assumed he was tired, since he worked all day. I quietly tiptoed to the stairs, forgetting about that one loud creak on the first step.

"Zoey?" I heard him mumble. I turned around and saw him looking at me.

"Hey, Dad. How was work?" I asked, trying to stay clear of the subject from being out all night and day then night again.

"Where have you been?"

I knew it would come eventually. I sighed. "I've been with Ma-ike." I mentally slapped myself at my stutter in his name.

"Mike? The whole time?" I nodded and he squinted his tired eyes at me. "Where did you sleep?"

I took advantage of his drowsiness and said, "I slept on the bed. But I was safe." Well it was the truth.

Thankfully, he nodded and laid back down. I turned back around to go to my room when I heard, "Zoey?"

"Yeah, Dad?"

"I do worry about you."

I didn't know what to say to that, so I was quiet. After a few seconds, I heard a light snoring from my dad and I quietly continued on to my room. Once I was in with my door shut, I plopped facedown on the bed and groaned. A lot really can happen in just two days. First, I get voted off the island, by an idiotic JOCK for that matter. I gasped. The finale is just a week away! Poor Cameron... I shook it away for now. What was I going to do about Mike? I really hope he's okay. So then what about Mal? I'm afraid I'm starting to feel something towards him. But I can't! I love Mike; I'm HIS girlfriend, not Mal's. I've also noticed something was up with him, too. At first he seemed alright, but then he started to show the bad side of him Mike warned me about. I told Mike I wouldn't fall for his charms, and I do not, WILL not, break promises. But I didn't exactly promise; I never said the word... 'Stop it, Zoey!' I yelled at myself. And besides, he wasn't really CHARMING me. That's what Manitoba Smith and Vito tries to do. So what is Mal doing?

Mal's P.O.V.

I drove Zoey to her house, taking in the feel of her arms around me and her voice telling me to slow down. I laughed at the thought of scaring the death out of her. She's so weak, yet she's strong, too. In her heart. I can see it by looking at her brown eyes. She was talking to me, but I was hardly listening. She looked dangerous with the helmet and now that she had taken it off, she looked angelic.

I drove away from her house once she said goodbye. I didn't say it back. I couldn't say anything. For the second time that day, she made me speechless. I went straight to my Mike's- our- house. Whatever. I went inside, slammed the front door (making Mike's mom jump in the process), ran straight to our bedroom, and slammed that door. I threw myself facedown on the bed.

Mike's mom cautiously knocked on the door and said, "Mike, honey, are you in there?"

I spoke to her in my usual low voice. "Not now, Laurene."

"Oh, Mal, are you okay?"

"No. Go away."

I could picture her looking down toward the floor. "Would you like me to get you something?"

"No."

I heard her sigh and she eventually left me in peace.

I think Zoey is becoming suspicious. She can't find out about anything. She is nothing but my new toy that I am trying to play with. My pet. I was watching her at the sandwich shop. The way she stared at something so dreamily, the way she looked at me... 'Stop!' I yelled at myself. I'm changing. What happened to me? Once, I'm a dangerous juvy convict, and now I'm literally going crazy over some- some happy-go-lucky ginger! I cannot let this keep going. I bet this is her doing. We'll see about that; I'll change her! I'll make her become something she's not.


	3. Chapter 3: Day Three

Chapter Three

Mike's P.O.V.

Why wasn't Mal letting me keep control? I'm the first, anyway. It's starting to feel like what happened just before juvy. I can't let that happen again! What if he's hurting Zoey?

"Mate, you be more skittish than a wombat in a dingo territory."

I looked behind me to see Manitoba Smith watching me.

"What?" I asked him.

"You've been pacing fer a while, now. Yer begginin' to warry me. What's on yer mind?"

I sighed. May as well confess. "I guess I have been a little skittish. I'm scared something's going to happen to Zoey. What if Mal's trying to hurt her? What if she actually likes him more than me? What if she chose him over me? What if-"

"Mike," he interrupted. He put his arm around my shoulder. I was startled; he never calls anyone by their name. "Don' warry. If anythin' happens to yer lady, I'll take care of it. He can't keep us in. I wan'a see that slug try to keep the great Manitoba Smith down."

Appearing from nowhere, Mal showed up in front of us. I became confused and looked at Manny. He was just holding back from attacking him.

"Mal, wha-" I began.

He interrupted me. "Take control. I need to talk to the four. Separately."

I was surprised and took that chance. I didn't need to be told twice. As soon as I had my body back, I found myself in my bedroom. I left the room and ran to the kitchen to find my adopted father, Eric, sitting at the kitchen table and my adopted mother, Laurene, washing dishes.

"Mike?" My dad said.

"Yeah, Dad?"

"Just making sure it's you. What's the rush?"

"It's me. I need to find Zoey. It's important."

My mom looked back at me and said, "You've been with her a lot lately."

"That wasn't me. I need to go. Bye, guys!" At that, I grabbed my keys and ran to my Harley and jumped on. I backed out of the garage and sped to Zoey's house, surprisingly without getting stopped. I ran to her front door and frantically knocked on it and didn't stop until it opened.

"Mike, where's the fire?" Her dad, Kenneth, joked.

"Good morning, Mr. Meadows. Is Zoey here?"

"No she left about an hour ago," he said, glancing at his pocket watch.

"Do you know where she went?"

He scratched his head. "I think she went to that gypsy moon girl's house. What's her name?"

"Dawn?" I suggested. I knew who he was talking about. Dawn was an aura-reading animal activist that was on the show with us. She got voted off before I did, much thanks to Scott.

"That's the name!" He snapped his fingers.

I ran back to my bike, saying, "Thanks, Mr. Meadows! I'll see you later!" I backed out of their driveway and turned down the left side of the street, leaving town. It took me about an hour to get to Dawn's house and once I was there, I ran to her door and knocked on it. I'd only been there once.

A woman with long blonde hair and light gray eyes answered. She looked like an older Dawn, so she was probably her mother. "Hey, you're Mike, right?"

"Yes. Are Dawn and Zoey here?"

"Actually, no... They just left a little while ago to go into town."

I began to get frustrated and almost let Chester out, but I quickly calmed myself.

"Oh. Do you happen to know where they went?"

"Ahh... No, not really. Knowing Dawn, though, I would say she is probably outside doing something with animals. But I really have no idea. I'm sorry."

I shrugged. "It's okay, I'll find them eventually. Thanks!" I left to get back on my bike. Time to go back into town. 'Where could they have gone?' I thought.

After another hour on the road, I entered the small town. At first, I checked all of the stores and to no avail. Next, I checked the park, failing there, too. I drove to the pet shop, since Dawn was an animal lover. I finally found them around the hamster cage. Dawn was standing with her back to me and Zoey was on the other side. She looked up at me with a big smile that slightly faltered, but found its original place.

"Greetings, Mike. I am able to see that you have been having a slight trouble finding Zoey and I. Am I correct?" The small blonde turned to face me.

Okay, she's a little weird, I'll give her that. "Uh- yeah."

"Ah, by the dark tint in your aura, I can also see that something is troubling you."

"Yeah... Can I talk to Zoey, please?" I glanced at my girlfriend. I noticed that she wasn't keeping eye contact. Is something troubling her, too?

"Of course." She turned to Zoey and said, "Talk to him sometime." After that, she left building. I don't know if to wait outside or just leave; I can never tell with her.

I walked over to where Dawn was just standing. "Zoey, are you alright?"

She looked at me, this time in the eyes, and smiled. "Yeah, I'm okay. What's up with you? I don't really need an aura reader to see you're upset."

I didn't want to worry her too much, so I got straight to the point. "What has Mal done to you?"

She seemed surprised. "Well, nothing, really. He hasn't actually hurt me. Why?"

I let out the breath I didn't seem to realize I was holding. I smiled at her, saying, "I'm just worried about you, that's all. I care about you. I mean, you are my girlfriend after all."

"Mike?" She started.

"Yeah, Zoey?"

"I don't mean to sound rude, but I was hoping to hang out with Dawn today. If that's alright..." She rubbed her arm. That's my Zoey: always checking to see if everything's okay with everyone, wanting to keep people happy.

I nodded. "Right. Uh- sorry. I'll leave you girls to yourselves. Bye, Zoey." I went to the other side of the cage, kissed her cheek, and left the building. Dawn was waiting outside for me to leave.

"Sorry about that, Dawn," I said.

She waved it off. "That is alright. I could tell you needed to check on her. Goodbye, Mike." She waved and went back inside.

I walked over to my Harley, hopped on, and rode off.

Mal's P.O.V.

I didn't sleep all night, for that red-head was stuck on my mind. I really needed some advice. I took a deep breath, forcing myself into our head. I surprised Mike and the Australian.

"Mal, wha-" Mike began.

I interrupted him. "Take control. I need to talk to the four. Separately."

Once he was gone, I turned to Manitoba. "I need your help."

"Why should I help you? You're about as trustworthy as a vegan quoll."

I shook off the compliment. "I just need advice. Don't get too excited."

He became confused. "Advice about what?"

I grinned. "Girls."

"Ohhhh... This smells like trouble. What gal are you thinkin' of?"

I grabbed the collar of his shirt and said, "Just tell me what you know, shrimp." I put emphasis on the word, imitating him.

His eyes grew wide, but quickly narrowed to match mine. "Fine. But if somethin' happens, yer takin' the blame."

I smirked and let go of his shirt.

"Okay, the main thing is that gals like romance. You gotta get her flowers, take her out to dinner, maybe even have some candle light. Oh, and never forget to open a door for her. The gals love that."

I almost threw up. Manitoba noticed, saying, "I know it's very cheesy, but hey, it's what they like."

I sighed. "Alright."

I left him alone to find Chester. I'm sure he would know something, being so old. I found him in the Main Brain reading a book. I had a devilish idea to score the piss out of him. I quietly snuck up behind him, leaned down next to his ear, and yelled, "CHESTER!"

He screamed and threw his book in the air as I was trying to keep myself together from laughing so hard.

"Oh, you knucklehead! All you darned kids are always picking on one another! You should be ashamed of yourself! Oh, if I ever have to get my hands on you, I'll wring your neck like there's no tomorrow! No respect! Oh!..."

I was cracking up like a madman and couldn't make out the first sentence. While I was laughing, Chester stood hunched over, leaning on his cane, and waited for me to finish. Once I had, he hit me on my head with his cane, saying, "Are you done, yet?"

I rubbed my head, glaring at the old man. "Yeah, yeah, I'm done. Look, just tell me what you know about women."

"Why would you want to know about women? You're too young for love. What are you, fourteen?"

I rolled my eyes. "Sixteen."

"Oh. You look too young for love. Back in my day, we all got married at fifteen- oh."

I mumbled, "Idiot," then said, "YOU were married?" I almost laughed again.

"Of course I was! It was a cold, winter day, a long time ago. She was a beauti-"

"Okay, no. I'm not going so sit around listening to some crack-pot old fool telling me about his love life. Thanks for nothing, gramps," I said. I waved him off and left the room.

Maybe I'll have better luck with the ladies man, Vito. I found him lifting weights in the same room as Svetlana practicing her gymnastics. To my advantage, they were already talking about girls. Well- more like arguing over them. I saw no need to interrupt, so I planted myself on the dumbbells rack and listened in.

"You see? *grunt* The ladies like the abs. Why do you think I'm shirtless? *grunt* Other than to show off my smokin' hot body."

Svetlana scoffed, making another back flip. She landed on her feet, saying, "Zee, zat's vere you're vong. Ve vomen do not alvays care vor looks. You must be kind to zem. Look zem in ze eyes. My kind ov man vould be a true gentleman. Alzo, I'm a competitor, zo I like a man viz a zense ov challenge."

"Ya mean like me." Manitoba Smith popped in, pointing to himself. He smirked, I gagged, Svetlana giggled.

Vito threw his weights to the side, saying, "Ey yo, please. I'm better at challenges than you, Manny."

Manitoba looked taken aback. "I could take ya down anytam, ya little wombat."

Vito stood and got in the fighting stance. "Oh you wanna go? Fine, let's rumble!"

Much to my displeasure, Svetlana came in between the two and stopped the fight that was so close to happening. I groaned loud enough for them to hear me. They all glanced over my way, apparently not knowing I was there the whole time.

I stood up from my roost and said, "You're all a bunch of dumbasses." I left after that.

I walked to my room to sit on my bed. I was staring at my white floor as I took in all of the information I just gathered. Be romantic, buy flowers, candle lit dinners, hold open doors, show kindness, keep eye contact, and be a true gentleman? I almost screamed, but pounded my head instead. This was all too much to take in. I can't do all of this crap! It's too... nice. I shuddered at the thought of me being nice. But if I was going to win her over from the bug-eyed weirdo, I was going to have to start somewhere. Maybe I could handle eye contact.

'My turn, Mike,' I thought. I stole control over from him just in time to hear the door knock. I groaned again, ready to give my infamous death glare to Mike's mom. 'When is she ever going to leave me alone?'

As I reached the door, I threw it open and gasped. "Zoey."

Zoey's P.O.V.

I barely slept all night, both Mike and Mal were on my mind. I've never had to deal with two guys at once. Or even one guy, since my small town is full of dumb jocks. I needed to talk to someone- a girl. I knew the perfect one, too. I thought I would go talk to Dawn. She can read anyone like an open book; no, a CLOSED book, since she's that good. I decided to walk, since it was still early and it took about an hour to get there with a car.

I got dressed for the day and put one of my sling shots in my back pocket. If I can survive Total Drama (especially the season with everything being mutated), I can survive a long walk with a sling shot. I walked downstairs to the kitchen and found my dad cooking breakfast. I wasn't surprised he was up at six in the morning; it's his everyday routine.

"Mornin', Zo," he said when he saw me. "You're up early. Want some bacon?"

I smiled. "Hey, do you mind if I go visit Dawn?"

"Who's Dawn, again?"

"She's the... Uh- gypsy girl from the show." I fought for a way to explain her to him easily. I barely could understand her myself.

He nodded. "Ohhhh, right right right right. Yeah, sure, I don't care. Take something to eat with you."

I grabbed a handful of bacon and kissed his cheek. "Thanks, Dad! I'll see you later!"

As I ran out the door, he called, "Be careful!"

I ate the bacon as I thought about what she was going to say. My mind wandered the whole trip. It took a few hours getting to her house, but with my thoughts somewhere different, it seemed to go by faster.

I finally arrived at her house and knocked on her front door. A lady answered and I recognized her as Dawns mother, Alice. She and Dawn came to my welcome home 'gathering.'

She smiled sweetly as she opened the door. "Well, hello Zoey."

I smiled back and said, "Goooooooood morning, Alice!" I dragged out the word 'good.'

She laughed. "I assume you are here for Dawn?"

I nodded.

"I'll go get her real fast... Would you like a cup of tea while you wait?"

"No, thanks, that's alright. Mind if I 'steal' her for the day?" I asked jokingly.

Alice winked and told me to wait here. She ran upstairs to get her, but came down without her. "She's not inside, so she must be out. If you like, you may go around back to see if she is in her treehouse. You can take her then." She laughed.

I thanked her and left to find Dawn. Alice was right; she was in her treehouse. I called up, "Dawn!"

She looked down at me. "Zoey!" She called back. "I read in my tea leaves this morning that I would have a visitor, but I had no idea it would be you! Wait one moment, I will be right down!"

After about a minute, Dawn jumped down from her treehouse. "I was planning on going into town today to get a new furry friend. Maybe you could accompany me."

I smiled. "Sure thing," I said. "I also need to talk to you..."

We left her house and began our journey to the small town.

"I can see in your aura you are having troubles. What are they?" She asked.

I started from the beginning and told her all about Mal and Mike. "He's been unable to stay in control for very long and only Mal has been coming out. I'm scared something will happen to Mike. Plus, Mal seems like trouble, but he's been acting nicer to me. Well, his actions anyway. And I'm really afraid my feelings might be changing. I still love Mike, but there is something dark I find strangely attractive in Mal. I think that, by the way he acts towards me, Mal might have some feelings for me, too."

We were at the edge of town now and Dawn was listening closley. I continued. "I don't know if it's him showing signs or if I'm changing. I kind of like how he's scary then will suddenly change to do something protective of me."

I found us entering the pet shop. We walked over to the hamster cage and I finished my ramble. "I feel like I'm going crazy, and I am just thinking about it. Dawn, what do I do?!"

At this point, I saw Mike come through the door. I smiled then thought of Mal, making the smile falter since it wasn't him, but it found its original place. Dawn apparently noticed him come in.

"Greetings, Mike. I am able to see that you have been having a slight trouble finding Zoey and I. Am I correct?" She turned around to face him.

He looked confused. "Uh- yeah."

"Ah, by the dark tint in your aura, I can also see that something is troubling you."

"Yeah... Can I talk to Zoey, please?" He glanced at me. I couldn't keep eye contact with him. I felt a little guilty thinking about what I was just saying.

"Of course." She turned to me and said, "Talk to him sometime." After that, she left the building.

Mike walked over to where Dawn was just standing. "Zoey, are you alright?"

I looked at him, this time in the eyes, and smiled. "Yeah, I'm okay. What's up with you? I don't really need an aura reader to see you're upset."

"What has Mal done to you?" He asked bluntly.

I was surprised. "Well, nothing, really. He hasn't actually hurt me. Why?"

He let out a breath and smiled at me, saying, "I'm just worried about you, that's all. I care about you. I mean, you are my girlfriend after all."

"Mike?" I said cautiously.

"Yeah, Zoey?"

"I don't mean to sound rude, but I was hoping to hang out with Dawn today. If that's alright..." I rubbed my arm. I hoped he wouldn't be upset by that.

Thankfully, he nodded. "Right. Uh- sorry. I'll leave you girls to yourselves. Bye, Zoey." He went to my side of the cage, kissed my cheek, and left the building. I put my hand up to my cheek where he kissed it. Why didn't I feel a thing? My heart didn't pound like it normally would and I didn't even smile. I became scared; I wasn't ready to lose my feelings for Mike!

Dawn walked back inside and picked up one of the hamsters and said to it, "You are the one that is destined to be my new friend."

She went to pay for the hamster while I stood where I was. 'Who exactly did she mean by that? Talk to Mike? Or Mal?' I mentally fought with myself.

We left the shop and walked to the edge of town. Dawn stopped and turned to me. Patting my arm, she said, "Thank you for joining me and choosing me to speak to. I can see you would like to talk to one of them, so I will leave you here. Goodbye for now, Zoey."

At that, she left me standing there speechless. I turned and ran to Mike's house. When I got there, Laurene was just about to leave.

I caught up to her and asked, "Excuse me, Laurene? Is Mike here?"

"Yeah, he's in his room. You can go ahead and go on in if you want."

I thanked her and walked to his bedroom door. I hesitated before I knocked. A couple of seconds after I did, the door opened. My heart began pounding when I saw who answered.

Mal gasped and said, "Zoey."

Mal's P.O.V.

I looked down at Zoey and noticed she seemed a little out of breath. I led her to my bed so she could rest for a moment and she didn't even act surprised. Odd...

At the same time, we both said to each other, "I need to talk to you." The sentence was very simple, but it held a lot of power. Before she could say another thing, I commented, "Well, obviously you need to talk to me, why else would you come?"

She looked down, rubbing her arm. 'Remember the plan, Mal,' I thought to myself.

She didn't look me in the eye when she said, "W-what would you like to talk to me about?"

I rubbed the back of my head. "I uh- can't say. Not- not now."

There was utter confusion on her face. She asked, "If you can't tell me, why did you say you need to talk to me?"

'Get yourself together, wimp!' I mentally yelled at myself. I took ahold of her wrist and pulled her out of the house.

"Hey!" She complied, pulling her hand away from mine once we were out. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Do you want to have some fun?" I grinned at her.

She narrowed her eyes at me suspiciously. "Depends on what you mean by 'fun.'"

We got on the Harley and I drove her forty-five minutes to Mike's favorite hideout. It was an abandoned building, three stories high, and most of the windows were broken in. I glanced behind me at her through the mirror. She was staring at the building wide-eyed, her left hand was rubbing her right arm, and she looked terrified. I wanted to pull her into a hug, but I restrained myself. She caught my eye and I glanced away. I almost sighed out loud. Alright, I admit it. Sure, the whole ordeal with Zoey and Mike was enough to keep me going, but now I was doing this because I... I had feelings for my pet Zoey.

"Mal?" She whispered. It became dead silent after I shut the bike off.

My heart rose, but I kept my eyes off hers. "Yeah?"

"What are we doing here?"

I laughed and turned to face her. "Truthfully?" She nodded. "I really have no idea. I just wanted to go somewhere." 'With you,' I added in my thoughts.

She creased her eyebrows together and giggled. I can't believe I just made her giggle! I smiled at her. And it wasn't a grin or smirk; it was a genuine smile. I needed chaos to get my act together. I pulled my lighter out of my pocket, lit it, and threw it through one of the windows. Zoey's face was full of shock as she gasped and said, "Mal, no!" I laughed maliciously as she stared, gaping at the building that was now up in flames. 'Much better.'

Zoey began slapping my arm. Man, she was stronger than I thought. It didn't particularly hurt, but it stung. I glanced down at her and watched. 'How adorable.' I realized she was yelling at me, so I didn't interrupt. I was grinning as she kept slapping me. What? Who doesn't enjoy a feisty red-head?

"...You sick, twisted psycho!" She finished her tantrum. She looked out of breath for the second time that day. I noticed she had tears in her eyes, too. Weird; why was she crying?

Using my thumb, I wiped one away that rolled down her cheek. I noticed myself doing it, but I didn't resist. Not this time. With my hand still on her cheek, I stared down at her and my heart stopped. Zoey had her eyes connected to mine. She put her hand up to mine for about four seconds then slowly pulled it down and looked away to the fire. I silently gulped and watched the fire as well.

"Why did you choose here?" She whispered.

"It was Mike's hideaway."

She gasped. "So why did you light it on fire?"

I shrugged. "I felt like something was burning inside me, so I thought I would let it out." She glanced up at me, I looked down at her, and she looked back away.

As I was watching her, I thought about what she said earlier. I curiously asked, "What were you going to tell me earlier?"

Zoey moved her eyes back up to mine and hesitated before saying, "I've found you have been being- uh- kinder to me. Lately you seem to be more protective, I guess. Why?"

'Crap.' I looked away quickly. "That was what was burning," I stated. "I'm finding myself becoming attracted to you. Like I have to protect you. You are everywhere I look. I hate you, then I love you. It's like I want to throw you off a cliff, then rush to the bottom to catch you." I glanced back down at her after I said that and she caught her breath.

"That's happening to you, too?" My heart started beating hard when she said that. That meant she liked me, too! Yes! I wanted to jump up and down, but I forced myself not to.

"That's what I was going to tell you earlier," I said. "So you feel the same way towards me?"

She looked down. "Yes." I wanted to kiss her right there. "But I'm with Mike."

I put my hand under her chin and lifted her head up. "What's the difference? We share the same body."

"But you're not the same person." Tears began rolling down her face again. "I can't do this. I told Mike I wouldn't fall into your charms, and what am I doing? Falling hard. And it's not right."

I didn't stop myself from hugging her. She needed one and she accepted it. "Nothing in this world is right, Zoey." I looked over at the fire burning inside the building. The roof was caving in. I felt like that building. If I don't put out the fire burning in me, soon I will cave in.

Mike's P.O.V.

I looked around my mental bedroom. I was scared. Someone knocked on my door, but I didn't answer. I didn't even look up to see who it was.

The door opened and the visitor cautiously asked, "Mate, ya in here?" It was Manitoba Smith. I still didn't reply. He poked his head in, saw me, and walked over to my bed and sat next to me. "What's wrong, Shrimp?"

I groaned and put my head in my hands. "What did Mal talk to you about?"

"He wanted advice about gals."

"Did you give him any?"

"Well, yeah. The bugger told me to."

I looked up at him. "Do you always do what he tells you to do?"

He nodded. "The kid's scary."

I sighed. "Oh, what am I going to do? I have to protect Zoey. I'll do anything. Curse you, Mal. I'm tired of this! Let me out!" I punched down on the mattress with side on my fist.

Zoey's P.O.V.

Mal told me about how he really felt and all I could say was, 'That's happening to you, too?'? I'm such a fool! I caught my breath after his little speech. I never felt like that before; not even for Mike. Everything was going so wrong. I was thankful that Mal hugged me. I really needed one. I can't believe that I'm falling for Mike's evil personality.

I squeezed my arms tighter around him and he put one of his hands on the back of my head. I began to worry about Mike. I do still love him- right? I had tears streaming down my face. Of all the people in the world, I chose Mal to cry in front of?

We stood there in front of a three-story building, engulfed in flames, arms wrapped around each other, for probably another hour. I finally ended my sob fest and Mal let go of me. He put his hands on my shoulders to look me over. I bet I was a mess. He smirked.

"What?" I asked him.

"You look terribly beautiful."

I giggled and put my hand up to the hair that was covering half his face. I barely moved it, just enough for me to be able to see both of his eyes.

"Let's go do something fun," I said mischievously. He raised his eyebrows and grinned.

Mal's P.O.V.

"Let's go do something fun," Zoey mischievously said. I raised my eyebrows out of surprise. The thought of my sweet little innocent pet doing something reckless made me grin. I wondered what she could think up.

"Fun as in my kind of fun, or fun as in board games?"

"I want a taste of what you do." She smiled sweetly.

I chuckled. "Why?"

"I don't know." She glanced back at the fire. "I guess I may have some contained fire in me, too."

'Perfect,' I thought. "Well, with you being so good, I'll take it easy on you."

She looked up at me. "Hey, I can be bad." I scoffed. "Seriously! Take me home real fast and I'll show you."

We left the burning building and arrived at her house. Zoey got off the bike, told me to wait here, and went inside. After a few minutes, she came back out with a backpack.

"What's in the bag?" I asked her.

She hopped back on the bike, saying, "You'll see." She put her arms around my chest. I touched one of her hands for a moment, then started the engine back up. "Alright, let's go to someone's house."

"Who's?" I asked.

"Just anywhere."

I shrugged and took off down the right side of the street. I parked on the side of the road and Zoey got off the bike. She began walking on the sidewalk for about a block. Smiling, she went up the steps to a red house, opened her bag, and pulled out tape and a box of saran wrap. I waited on the sidewalk and grinned, starting to get an idea of where she was going with this. She taped the saran wrap to the door, rang the bell, and ran off, pulling me with her. We hid across the street behind a car, me ginning like a madman and her giggling like crazy. The door finally opened and some guy tried to step out, but got a face full of wrap instead. Zoey cackled loudly, the pranked guy looked over in our direction, and I covered her mouth, trying not to blow our cover, even though I was laughing hard. The guy messed with the wrap for a minute, finally got it down, threw a rude gesture with his hand in our direction, and slammed the door behind him. I let go of Zoey and we both laughed as loud as we could. I threw my arm around her shoulder and said, "Zoey, my pet, you are a genius."

She giggled. "I told you so."

"But that's beginner level for me," I said. "I do evil things, cruel things. Things you couldn't begin to imagine."

Zoey crinkled her eyebrows out of worry. For a small moment, I felt a little guilty for telling her, but she wanted to know. I grabbed her wrist, trying to stray from her hand, and led her to the black Harley. The sun was a litter farther than midway through the sky, so I guessed it was around 2:00 pm. I drove her to Spilled Beans for a late lunch, assuming she was hungry.

I opened the door for her, surprising her and myself, and said, "My treat." She smiled at me and I put my fist up to my chest, feeling my heart hurt.

We sat in one of the booths and the waitress came over. She gave us the menus and I realized it was the cashier from yesterday. She recognized us and looked cautious of me. I narrowed my eyes and smirked at her, making her seem terrified, while Zoey put her hand on her arm to reassure her.

The waitress left us with the menus. A small child came running by our booth and I stuck my foot out in front of him, making him fall flat on his face. I chuckled and Zoey kicked my leg, hard. I cringed in pain and glared at her, she crossed her arms and glared back. I raised my eyebrows and smiled at her. 'That's my girl,' I thought. 'Well, she's still Mike's, but not for long. I'll take care of him later.'

The waitress came back, we ordered, we ate, and Zoey made sure I paid full price. I rolled my eyes.

"Hey, Zoey?" I asked.

She connected her eyes to mine and my heart stopped. I continued, "Will you paint me something?"

She looked confused. "What?"

"I want to see what you can do."

She scratched her head. "Well, I'm not that great..." She put a devious grin on her face. Apparently she had a plan. "I need to go home and get some paint and a paintbrush."

The side of my mouth turned up. I took her to her house again, she went back inside, and came back out with her bag fuller than before. I drove her to that same red house and let her do her thing. She pulled out a paint roller and a can of white paint from her bag. I watched, chuckling, as she began to paint the grass. She taped more saran wrap on the door, rang the bell, and we ran across the street to hide behind the same car. The guy opened the door and his face when he saw the white grass was priceless. He tried to leave the house with his hands on his head, but got another face full of saran wrap. He began to yell and Zoey and I ran back to the bike laughing like maniacs.

As we were speeding off down the road, I glanced at her through the mirror. She had her arms wrapped around my torso and she was smiling ear to ear, her nose slightly crinkled. I smiled at her, thinking, 'I think I'm in love with this girl.'

We spent two more hours goofing off and 5:30 came too soon. I drove Zoey home and before she got off the bike, she threw her arms around my neck and whispered in my ear, "Bye, Mal." I put my right hand on one of her arms and closed my eyes. I felt a lump in my throat as I watched her go inside. I turned down the right side of her street and went home, myself.

I pulled in the driveway and parked the bike in the garage. As I walked inside, I found Mike's adopted parents sitting on the couch, watching some game show. I shrugged, realizing I didn't want to be alone. Not this time. I walked over and sat between them, surprising them both.

Laurene gasped. "Malevolent! You joined us!"

"It's Mal," I gritted through my teeth.

Eric piped in, throwing his arm around my shoulders. "Hey, man! Good to see ya!"

I rolled my eyes, quietly smiling, and watched the show with them.

Zoey's P.O.V.

Just when I thought everything couldn't get any worse, I'm pulling pranks FOR Mal! To make him happy! I mean, I enjoyed every bit of it, but it wasn't nice. Poor guy. I giggled. Okay, that was gold. I hugged Mal when we arrived at my house and I wasn't even realizing I did it until I got off the Harley.

Once I was inside and shut the door behind me, I leaned on it with my eyes shut and my hands between my lower back and the door.

"Hey, Zo!"

I opened my eyes. "Dad!" I smiled and walked over to give him a hug.

After we broke apart, he asked, "So?"

I was confused. "So?..."

"How's Dawn?"

"Oh!" I laughed. "She's great. Just got a hamster."

"How nice," he nodded. He pointed behind him with his thumb, saying, "I'm going to go finish dinner."

"What are we having?" I asked as he was halfway gone.

"Finfer!" He yelled from the kitchen.

I giggled to myself. I yelled back, "My favorite!" Finfer means fin-for-yourself. Basically, it's whatever you find in the kitchen.


	4. Chapter 4: Day Four

Chapter Four

Mal's P.O.V.

I'm tired. Maybe I'll allow Mike to take over today. For now. But first, I'm going to tell him.

Zoey's P.O.V.

*Cough*

*Cough*

*Sneeze*

*Sniff*

"Dad?" I just woke up and I felt like I've been attacked.

Kenneth opened my bedroom door, saying, "What's up?"

"I think *cough* I'm sick..."

My dad chuckled. "Sounds like it. Hold on, I'll be right back."

He left my room and I heard each step he took down the stairs and the final creak on the bottom. After a minute, I heard it all in reverse. Dad came back in, smiling and enjoying the possibility of babying me, and stuck a thermometer in my mouth.

After thirty seconds, it beeped, he pulled it out, looked at it, and said, "104.3°F. Sorry Kiddo, you're a SICKopath. Get it?" He cracked up laughing. I rolled my eyes, smiling at his pun. I sneezed again and tried to get out of bed.

Dad pushed me back down, saying, "No way you're getting out of bed today."

"What if I *cough* have to go to the bath- *cough* bathroom?"

He shrugged. "I'll bring you a bottle."

My mouth flew open and I sneezed. He cracked up some more. I complained, "I'm not a guy!"

"Sucks to be you, then."

I scoffed and pushed his shoulder. We both began laughing, then I started a hard coughing fit.

My dad looked like he pitied me. "Aw, Zo... I'm sorry, but- I'm really going to enjoy this."

I giggled and shooed him out of my room with my hand, all the while coughing. My phone beeped, telling me I had a text message.

Hey, Zoey, can I come over?

~Mike

Was it really Mike, or was it Mal?

No. I'm sick.

~Zoey

Aw, that stinks. I'm coming to take care of you.

~Mike

I giggled.

What if you get sick?

~Zoey

I'll be fine. See you soon.

~Mike

I put the phone up to my chest, my heart pounding. Whoever it was was so sweet. I quietly snuck out of my bedroom to go to the bathroom right next door. I didn't want my dad herding me back to bed. I looked in the mirror and saw I was quite a looker. Not really. I was a mess. I had a small amount of smudged makeup on my eyes (almost none at all) with dark lines under them and my hair was down, out of my pigtails, messy, and holding no flower. I shrugged, being too tired to fix myself up. When I was finished with my business, I tiptoed back to my bed. I crawled in, pulled my blankets up to my neck, and turned on my side to go back to sleep.

I woke up to a light knocking on my door. "Zoey?"

"Mm?..." I quietly mumbled. My eyes were still shut and I was facing the wall. All of a sudden, I had another coughing fit and I ended it with a sneeze. I sniffled and groaned. 'It's too early to be sick,' I tiredly thought.

The door opened and I just peeked behind me. I saw my boyfriend's body, but I didn't know WHO it was.

"Who *cough* are you?" I tiredly asked. My voice cracked.

"Just Mike," he said. I could hear a smile in his voice and I turned over and smiled back. I kind of missed his voice, being so used to Mal's low one.

"Hi, Mike. *cough, cough* I would hug you, but I really, physically can't."

"That's okay, I'll accept a mental one. I brought you daisies. And a vase." He put the flowers on my bookshelf.

"Aww! You're so sweet! Thank you!"

"Anytime. Hey, your hair is down. I've never seen it like that." Mike came over and sat next to me on my bed, smiling. He moved a piece of stray hair away from my face and I gave him a tired smile.

He broke the silence. "How are you feeling?"

I sniffed. "The same way I look: terrible."

"You don't look that bad."

I giggled. "Liar."

He tilted his head, saying, "Yeah." We both laughed.

I put my hand to his cheek and quietly said, "I missed you. Where have you been?"

Mike tapped his head. My eyelids started to get heavy, so I removed my hand to grab his and a couple minutes later, I fell back asleep, smiling and staring at his beautiful face.

Mike's P.O.V.

Mal popped in front of me and asked, "What would you do if I turned your girlfriend evil?"

"Why would you want to know that?" I asked suspiciously.

He raised an eyebrow. I narrowed my eyes at him.

He said, "Well, I HAVE been the only one keeping her company..."

I suddenly grabbed a fist full of his shirt in my right hand. Glaring, I threatened, "If you do one thing to hurt MY Zoey Meadows, I will make your life a living Hell."

Mal leaned forward and whispered in my ear, "It already is." He began chuckling like a madman. I pushed him away. He walked back to his mental bedroom with his hands behind his back and whistling 'In The Hall Of The Mountain King.'

I took a deep breath and gained control of the body. I needed to talk to Zoey. I texted her and found out she was sick. Poor girl... I went out and bought some daisies and a vase to put them in to cheer her up and arrived at her house. Kenneth opened the door, pointed me to Zoey's room, I ran up the stairs, knocked on the door, and heard her cough, hard. When I opened the door, I saw her covered up in her bed and facing the wall. We had a short conversation and with her being so sick and tired, she fell asleep holding my hand. My hand. 'I have to protect this angel.' I felt a pang in my chest and left the room to find Kenneth with his arms crossed waiting for me.

"Mr. Meadows," I said, startled.

"Come with me, boy. We need to talk."

I've never had a girlfriend before Zoey because of my disorder, but I heard the girls' fathers have 'talks' with the guys to scare them. My heart began pounding. I'm not that scared of Zoey's dad, since he's so cool, but I'm sure he could be the scariest person on the earth if he wanted to. He took me downstairs, then downstairs even farther to the basement. He led me to a table in the middle of the room. Something on the table was covered by a white sheet.

"Zoey has had a couple boyfriends before, but I've never showed them this. I was waiting for the right one. This is very, extremely important to me." My eyebrows raised, wondering what he had under the sheet.

He continued, "I've never been a fan of her previous boyfriends, but you- you're my favorite. And I strongly believe you're the right one for her."

Kenneth put his hand around my shoulder and said, "Mike?"

I was terrified. "Yeah?"

"Do you like Legos?"

I creased my eyebrows. "I'm sorry?"

He let go of me, walked over to the table, grabbed two handfuls of the sheet, and pulled it off. "BEHOLD!" He yelled.

My jaw dropped. "Oh. My. Gosh. That's... AMAZING!"

He had built a Lego city, a Lego suburb, and a Lego country, all shapes, sizes, and colors. It was spectacular.

I began to blabber like an idiot. "It's beautiful! So precise, a masterpiece! The colors are perfect, the architecture looks almost real... I am so impressed. Sir, how long did it take you to create this?"

"Oh, about ten, eleven years. Zoey helped. That's why I was waiting for the right kid." Kenneth was grinning like a fool. He checked his pocket watch and asked, "Can you cook?"

"Uh- yeah."

He eyed me. "How well?"

"My dad is a chef and he's the one that taught me, so pretty well."

Kenneth smiled, saying, "Show me."

We walked upstairs and turned in the kitchen. He told me to make up some tomato soup, pulled out the supplies, and pointed me to the seasonings. He watched me cook, sitting at the table. Once I was done, he tasted a spoonful. His face lit up and he said, "This is the most delicious soup I have EVER tasted in my life! What ingredients did you use?"

I shrugged. "I'm sorry, Mr. Meadows. It's a secret family recipe. I can't tell you."

He waved it off, saying, "That's alright, I appreciate your loyalty. Now, let's go feed that ginger upstairs."

We both smiled and he put some tomato soup in a bowl. I followed him to my girlfriend's bedroom and he knocked on the door.

She yelled, "Don't come in!"

Kenneth's eyebrows pulled together and he yelled back, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, hold on! You're distracting me!"

I chuckled and Kenneth playfully elbowed me. Two seconds later, we heard a loud, somewhat high-pitched thud. Something small must have hit the wall, hard.

"Okay! *cough* All clear!"

Zoey's dad opened the door and we entered the room. She was standing on her bed and was holding a slingshot in her left hand.

"What was the noise?" Kenneth asked.

She pointed to the wall behind us. "Spider."

I turned around to look at it and said, "Woah! That's HUGE!"

A smashed spider with a large bead indented in the center of it was stuck to the wall. The spider was maybe six inches in diameter. The large bead fell to the ground and I turned back to Zoey. She sat down on the edge of her bed and laid her hands next to her. She began swinging her legs, smiled, and said, "It was a jumper. So... What's up?"

Kenneth held out the bowl, saying, "We brought you some tomato soup."

She smiled bigger. "Aw, thanks!" She took it, ate a spoonful, and said, "Mike made it."

I raised my eyebrows, wondering how she knew, and Kenneth laughed out loud.

I asked, curiously, "How can you tell?"

She giggled, put her right hand up to the left side of her mouth, pointed to her dad with her left thumb, and acted like she was whispering, "That *cough* man is a terrible cook."

Kenneth laughed harder. "Thanks, Sweetheart. You're so kind."

She giggled again, taking another bite. "Great job, Mike. It's really good. Thank you."

I smiled and walked over to sit next to her. I threw my arm around her shoulder, kissed her forehead, and replied with, "Anytime."

Kenneth clapped is hands together once, slightly bent over, and said, "Alright, well, I'm going to just... Leave... You love birds alone now..." He backed out the door and shut it behind him.

I looked back at Zoey and asked, "Feeling any better?"

"N-ACHOO-o. Do I look any better?" She wondered.

"N-achoo-o," I imitated her. She giggled and finished her soup.

"You are one heck of a cook," she said, smiling.

"I know."

I looked back at the smashed spider and asked, "Do you want me to clean that up for you?"

She smiled. "Please..."

'My turn,' I heard Mal say in my head.

"What! No!" I replied. Zoey gave me a funny look. I told her Mal wants back out and she raised her eyebrows.

'I'm going to take over whether you like it or not, Twerp.'

"No, I need to take care of Zoey." I excused myself from the room to find some paper towels.

'What's wrong with her?'

"She has the flu. Not that you would care."

'Mike-'

"No, Mal! Not today."

'You're going to let me out. Now. Actually, I'm forcing you back in.'

As I was about to disagree, I was forced in my head. I yelled, "Mal!"

Zoey's P.O.V.

I woke up from my nap, coughing. I took a glance around my room, noticing an enormous arachnid next to my desk. It was a black, fuzzy spider with white stripes on its legs and a single stripe on its middle. On the butt, it had six orange lines (three on each side) and an orange spot in the middle. The look of it made me shiver. I quietly and quickly reached under my bed to grab one of my slingshots. Yes, I have many, and they are hidden all over my room. A box of beads was nearby, so other than a pillow, those beads were my only weapons. As I was just about to shoot, the spider jumped out of the way. I shot two beads at the jumper, but missed both times. I was aiming the third one, sniffling, and my door knocked.

"Don't come in!" I yelled.

"Are you alright?" I heard my dad ask.

The spider jumped away again, and landed on the wall next to the door.

"Yeah, hold on! You're distracting me!"

I carefully aimed and shot the arachnid right in the middle. I told them the coast was clear and they entered my room.

After the whole conversation, Mike offered to clean up the black spider.

"Please," I replied.

Mike suddenly said, "What? No!"

I looked at him, confused. He said, "Mal wants out."

I raised my eyebrows. 'Is he really coming?' I wondered. Sadly, I kind of wished he was. But I also didn't, because I wanted to be with Mike today. 'Ugh! What is wrong with me?'

"No, I need to take care of Zoey," Mike said. To me, he continued, "Excuse me for a minute."

Mike quickly left me to myself. I set the bowl on top of my side table and laid back down. I suddenly began another coughing fit, with this one lasting almost a whole minute. I had a sore throat from all the coughing and sneezing, and along with the runny and clogged up nose, I had a killer headache. 'How did I get so sick?'

After a couple minutes, Mike returned empty handed.

"Couldn't find the paper towels?" I asked.

In a low voice, he asked, "Why would I need paper towels?"

I looked at him, curiously, and his hair fell, along with my heart. "Mal."

Mal stepped in front of my bed and got down on one knee. He put one of his hands on my cheek and crinkled his eyebrows out of worry. "I heard you were sick."

I gave him a half-hearted smile. "Pretty bad," I replied.

Mal smirked at me. "You're quite a site. Pale skin- well pale-er-, pajamas, almost no makeup," he flicked a strand of my hair. "No pigtails. Where's your flower?"

I gestured over to it with my chin and said, "Over there." I coughed.

He looked at it then back at me. Getting up, he walked over to my flower and turned his back to me. When he turned around to face me, he had my flower in his hair. I cracked up laughing and he smiled.

Pointing to the wall behind him, he asked, "What's that by the door?"

"It was a spider. Big, fuzzy, black spider."

"Did you kill it with that bead?"

I nodded. "And my slingshot."

He raised his eyebrows, saying, "You're a good shot."

I blushed. "Thanks. I need to clean it up."

Mal narrowed his eyes at me. "You are NOT going to get out of this bed until you stop that fever."

I giggled.

"What?" He asked.

"I can't take you seriously with my flower in your hair."

He rolled his eyes and left to clean up the spider mess for me.

Mal's P.O.V.

I rolled my eyes at my toy and left downstairs to find those paper towels she was talking about. When I caught sight of Zoey's father, I cleared my throat and put my hair up.

In Mike's voice, I asked, "Where are the paper towels?"

He glanced at at me and gave me a funny look. I realized I still had Zoey's flower in my hair, and I took it out. Kenneth grinned, pointing to the kitchen.

When I entered the kitchen, I found them on the counter. Walking past the refrigerator, I noticed there were pictures of Zoey clipped to it.

One was a picture of her on her birthday. She was sitting by the table with a cake in front of her, the candle shaped like a seven. Next to the cake was a music box. White with a gold trim, flowers painted all over it.

Hanging next to that one had a tree. I squinted my eyes at it, seeing a figure on one of the branches. It was Zoey, crouching on the limb and looking off in the distance.

Another had that girl with a balloon in her mouth. It was blown up, her cheeks popped out, and her eyes crossed. I chuckled.

There was a particular one that caught my eye. It was a close-up of her laying down, eyes on the camera. They were slightly squinted from happiness, her arms were laying under her chin, and she had a small smile on her face. She was so beautiful.

I didn't realize I was staring at it until I heard someone say, "Like what you see?"

I jumped, making my hair fall, and turned around to see Zoey standing behind me.

"What did I just tell you?" I growled at her.

"To stay in bed?" She guessed.

"Why aren't you there?"

"You were taking a long time and I don't like the sight of spiders. Even dead ones," she shrugged. "Besides, you can't *cough cough* can't keep me contained."

I glared at her and put my hand her arm. Zoey glared back and smirked. I took a step to the side away from the fridge and she followed, making me lose my glare and my grip. As I backed to the counter, she took a step forward, keeping eye contact. She took another step, leaned up against me, and stood on her tiptoes. I put my palms on the edge of the counter. My eyebrows pulled together with my heart beating as fast as a hummingbird's and as hard and loud as a drum. With her left hand, she reached behind me, opened a cabinet door, grabbed something glass out of it, then shut it back. She winked at me and stepped away. I watched her walk over to the sink, fill it with water, then leave to go back to her room. I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding and put my hand to my chest. I could literally feel my heart pounding through my skin. I turned to get those towels, and when I stuck my hand out to grab them, I saw it was shaking, and I couldn't make it stop. I ignored it, pulled a couple pieces off, and ran upstairs to Zoey's room. After I cleaned up the spider, I threw it away in the bathroom trash and went back to the bedroom.

I put my hand up to my head and scratched it, saying, "Hey, -uh- I, well, I -um- gotta go." Okay, it was more like stuttering. Zoey smiled, knowing what she did was what was making me go. She made me nervous, and I just can't let that keep on going. I continued, "Ah- bye."

She lost her smile and I left the room, shutting the door behind me. I ran down the stairs, hearing the creak on the bottom step. I kept my head down as I went past the living room.

"Oh, Mike?" I heard Kenneth say.

I cleared my throat, put my hair up, and turned to face him. "Yeah?" I replied with Mike's voice.

"Here." He tossed something through the air and I caught it with both hands. I opened them to see what it was. It was a shotgun shell. I looked up at him, confused.

"It flies faster through a gun."

I became worried, but tried not to show it. "Yes, sir." I fully understood his message.

I turned and left through their front door. As I was walking to the Harley, I slipped the shotgun shell in my pocket. Hopping on the bike, I turned it on and rode home.

Zoey's P.O.V.

Mal put his hand up to his head and scratched it, saying, "Hey, -uh- I, well, I -um- gotta go."

I smiled, knowing that I made him act like a fool. He's actually cute when he's nervous. He continued, "Ah- bye."

My smile fell, along with my heart, as he turned to leave. I didn't mean to make him go! I watched him through my window. He put something in his pocket before he left on his bike. I coughed five times, shook my head, and laid back down to take another nap. Boy, I was exhausted.

I awoke a couple hours later to my dad opening my door. I rolled over to face him. He was bringing with him a TV tray, a microwavable TV dinner, and a fork. I smiled and sat up.

Sarcastically, I said, "Ooo, a TV tray... Feeling gourmet?"

My dad playfully glared at me. "Well, I thought I would make it extra special, with you being so sick and all."

I giggled and thanked him, and he left to go eat his own TV dinner. After I ate, I became bored, so I pulled out my laptop. I became curious as I thought about that spider. I typed, 'Spiders common in Canada,' in the search bar.

"'Spiders of Ontario'? That's where I live..." I thought out loud. I clicked on the site and scrolled down the page.

"No... No... No... No... No... No... No... No... No... No... No... No... No... No... No... No... No... No... No... No... No... That's it! Wow, that was surprisingly easy."

'Phidippus audax

(Bold Jumper)

Summary

The "Bold Jumper" is one of the largest and most common species of jumping spider in North America. The spider is mostly black with a conspicuous white, orange, or red triangular patch in the center of its abdomen. Take a close look at this spider's chelicerae (jaws), as they have a gorgeous, iridescent sheen to them and come in a variety of colors!' [(A/N: THIS CAME FROME A REAL WEBSITE)]

"Alright, that's creepy. I wonder what else it says." I clicked on the name of the spider. I continued scrolling down the page, learning what I can.

'Look for Phidippus audax on the exterior walls of buildings, on rocks and logs in old fields and prairies, and in low vegetation in open woodlands.

They use their excellent, up-close vision for judging distances and being able to jump at prey with extraordinary accuracy.

It matures and mates in the spring throughout most parts of its range, but in warmer, more tropical climates, it's possible to find adults of both sexes at any time of year.'

"Okay, ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew!" I slammed the top shut. I shivered. Not a big fan of spiders. I went back to bed; for real this time.


	5. Chapter 5: Day Five

Chapter Five

Mal's P.O.V.

It's 4:50 in the morning and I was pacing back and forth, thinking about Zoey. Mike needed to know. I haven't sat down since I came home from her house, I haven't eaten, I haven't done a thing other than pace and think. I don't know what to do!

At 7:47 a.m., I allowed Chester to have the body. He wouldn't do something that would ruin anything. I took a deep breath, pulling myself into my mind. I ran to my black bedroom and was about to open my door, my hand just mere inches from the knob, when I stopped myself. I turned around to Mike's room instead and without bothering to knock, I threw his door open. The twig jumped.

"Mal, what are y-"

"I'm in love with your girlfriend."

His jaw dropped. Quietly, he asked, "You're what?"

"Mike, I'm in love with Zoey, and I can't stop. I need your help."

He was speechless. "Well, that explains a lot," he mumbled.

"How do I-"

"You're in love with my girlfriend?"

"Yes, and I-"

"How are you in love with my girlfriend?"

"I don't know. Listen, I-"

"I'm shocked."

"Mike, listen to me for one damn second!" I yelled.

The kid stood up. Walking to me, and glaring, he said, "Why should I listen to you? You used to be my best friend before you turned your back on me. On all of us. You are the one that stole MY body to do evil things. You are the one that threw MY body in juvy. You are the one that made MY body an orphan. You are the one that keeps taking control over MY body. And now, you're the one stealing my girlfriend? Give me one good reason to listen to one petty syllable you are about to push out of your mouth."

"I think Zoey is falling in love with me, too."

Mike's pissed-off face changed that instant to hurt. He quietly whispered, "She's what?"

Zoey's P.O.V.

I woke up Wednesday morning feeling much better than I had the day before. I walked down the hall to the bathroom to freshen up. I took a shower, fixed my hair, then brushed my teeth. After, I went to my bedroom to get my flower, but it wasn't in there. I walked down the stairs, hopped over the bottom one to miss the creak, and entered the kitchen. I saw my dad sitting at the kitchen table doing the puzzles in the Comics section in the newspaper. I smiled and threw my arms around him.

"Hey, sicko, get your arms off me. You might be contagious."

I laughed and looked at the time. 9:32 a.m. "Aren't you supposed to be at work?" I asked him.

He looked at the time and exclaimed, "Crap! Bye, Zo!" He grabbed his keys and ran to the car. I could hear him zoom down the road and I giggled.

'I swear, it's me that takes care of him,' I thought. 'I don't know how he survived while I was gone.'

I made myself something to eat for breakfast and noticed my flower wasn't in the kitchen. After I went around the house looking for it, I finally found it on a side table in the living room.

"There you are," I said to it. "And here I am talking to an inanimate object." I giggled.

I clipped it in my hair and thought of what I could do today. I decided to wash the dishes Dad and I made, dried them, and put them up. I folded some laundry, thinking of how messy he was. I took another hour doing small house chores and ran up to my bedroom to grab a slingshot. Putting it in my back pocket, I ran back down and out the door. I kept running and thirty minutes later, I arrived at Mal's house. I mentally slapped myself, realizing I said it was Mal's house instead of Mike's.

I knocked on the door and his adopted dad answered. He spread his arms and exclaimed, "ZOEY!"

I did the same, smiling. "ERIC!"

He chuckled. "Come hither, child."

I giggled and gave him a hug. He invited me in, saying, "Would you care to join me in watching the new Spider-Man movie?"

I shrugged. "I have nothing better to do. I'd be honored."

Eric grinned and lead me to their living room. I found Laurene sitting on the couch and we joined her. After the movie was over, I still hadn't caught sight of Ma-ike, so I asked where he was. The couple was talking about the movie, completely ignoring my question. I went ahead and walked down the hall to his bedroom and knocked on the door, saying, "Hey, it's Zoey... Are you in there?"

I didn't get any sort of response, so I entered the room. "Hello?" I called out.

"Over here, you ding dong!"

I looked behind the door. "Chester! What are you doing?"

He was holding some kind of machine; I had no idea what it was. "Trying to figure out how this fancy shmancy techno thing works. Do you know?" He looked at me and I shook my head and shrugged.

Mike's P.O.V.

At first, I was outraged at Mal, and then when he told me that my very own angel was falling for him, my heart dropped. This was just as I had feared.

"W-why would you think that?" I asked, quietly.

Mal told me everything they did and how he felt about what she did. I was silent, thinking and feeling betrayed. Not just by Zoey, but Mal too. The next thing I knew, my fist had slammed up against his cheek and he had fallen to the floor.

"Mike, what the hell?!" Mal had his hand to his face where I had punched him.

My eyes grew wide. "Mal, I'm sorry- I didn't realize I did it... I'm just so... I don't know... I don't feel the same!"

He narrowed his eyes at me, stood up, and growled, "It's called anger, peon. I would have done the same thing."

He turned and left to his room, slammed the door behind him, and he yelled. I could hear something break; probably slammed up against the wall. I assumed he wasn't going to take control for a while, so I did. I found Zoey sitting next to me.

Mal's P.O.V.

After Mike punched me, I turned and left to my room. I slammed the door behind me and saw on my side table, the framed picture I had of Mike and I when we were still small children. I stormed over to it, yelled as loud as I could, and threw it hard against the wall opposite of me. He wasn't the only one that was angry. I sat on my bed and put my head in my hands. I heard noises outside my room.

"... I'm gonna teach that dingo a lesson, you just watch me."

Great. Now they are coming.

Someone pounded on my door. I ignored it and Manitoba Smith, Vito, Svetlana, and Chester came charging in.

Looking up, I said, "Chester... What happened to being in control?"

Chester pointed his finger at me and said, "You listen here, ya whippersnapper. We-"

Manitoba cut in. "What ya've been doin' ta my mate's not raght."

I shrugged.

"Ey, yo, Mike's the first," said Vito. "I know it sucks being trapped in some dork's body, but life ain't fair. You can't keep hoggin' the control."

I stood from my bed. "This isn't about Mike or control anymore."

"Vell zen, vat eez eet about?" Svetlana asked.

I looked away, saying, "Zoey."

Chester gasped and Manitoba asked, "That's what ya wanted the gal advice for, wasn' it? So ya could steal the Sheila from the shrimp."

"Give him a prize, he has a brain!" I exclaimed.

"Ya slug!" Manitoba commented.

Svetlana walked over to me and slapped my cheek. "You monster! Zoey eez Mike's, and Mike's only! How could you?"

I exhaled, saying under my breath, "Peons..."

"You're a sick, twisted jerk!" said Vito.

"Aw, thanks! You're so sweet," I growled at him.

All of a sudden, Chester started laughing. Everybody looked at him. "Hehehohaha... Ohhh, you crack me up like a nutcracker..." He wiped a tear from his eye.

I gave him an odd look. 'My sarcasm's not THAT funny,' I thought. 'Old man.'

"He's a sandwich out of a picnic, alright," Manitoba Smith said. He looked back at me. "Keep this up, jackalope, and ya'll be disappearing faster than a mouse in a snake's den."

At that, they left me in my own silence. "It's time to end this," I thought out loud.

Mike's P.O.V.

I took control and saw Zoey sitting next to me. I quickly threw my arms around her. Completely taken by surprise, she hugged me back. I let go of her, but my hands stayed on her shoulders.

I looked her in the eyes and asked, "Zoey, have you fallen out of love with me?"

Zoey's P.O.V.

"Have you fallen out of love with me?" Mike asked me.

I could feel my heart stop. "I- um... Who- uh... What?" I stuttered. This can't be happening...

"Mal told me he's fallen in love with you and said you have done the same with him." He squinted his eyes out of worry.

I took his hands off my shoulders. "Mike... I don't know what to say... I mean, I do still like you. And I do have feelings for Mal. But-"

"You promised me you wouldn't fall for his charms and this... I can't protect you if you keep hanging out with my evil personality."

"You see... I didn't exactly promise... And I'm not falling for his charms because he's not really charming me. He seems to not be able to help himself. Plus, he's nicer than you think. He has a heart, but it's thrown in a box at the bottom of the ocean. Distant and safe."

I could see the hurt in his eyes and it broke my heart. "Mike..." I reached my hand out to touch him, but he moved it away with his, took his eyes off mine, and closed them. A tear fell down my face. He noticed it and stood, putting his hands on his forehead. He walked to the middle of his room and turned away from me.

"You're an amazing girl, Zoey, but you need to make up your mind," said Mike, turning back to me. He put his hands down and continued. "Please. I trust you and I hope you choose me, but I'll support you if you choose Mal. Only if you believe it's the right decision."

He took a deep breath the same time I said, "Mike-"

Mal's P.O.V.

"I need to end this."

I stole control and heard a girl, the girl, say, "Mike-"

"Guess again," I interrupted. I was about to confront her; make her leave me alone, as much as it would hurt.

Zoey gasped and I took a moment to look her over. She was sitting in Mike's bedroom on the floor behind his door and I was standing in the middle of the room. A tear was falling down her face and I watched another come out of her eyes. I walked to where she was sitting and got down on my knees.

"Oh, Zoey... What happened?" I wiped her tears away.

She covered her face in her hands. "I don't know what to do!"

I grabbed her wrists and slowly pulled them away. I kept my eyes on hers and she looked up at me, connecting our eyes together. I broke the silence. "Do with what?" I asked.

"With us! With Mike! Mike is my boyfriend, I've fallen for you, and-" She choked back some more tears.

I looked away. I needed to stay strong, stay cold. "I know."

"What?"

Keeping my eyes off hers, I said, "Leave."

She became confused. "What?"

Now I looked at her. I felt my heart pounding. "Leave this room. Leave this house. Leave this block. Leave this street. Leave Mike. Leave me..." I took a deep breath and added, "Alone."

She gasped, keeping her mouth slightly open in shock. I kept my eyes where they were as she stood and left the room, shutting the door quietly behind her. I could hear her say goodbye to my parents and exit through the front door. If they love you, they'll come back, right? I turned around, setting my back against the wall. I had my knees up and hands on the floor. My chest hurt like crazy, and closing my eyes, I could almost see Zoey's heart break, her eyes wide wide with fear, and that sweet, devastated face becoming stuck in my head. I put my hand to my chest. "Ouch."

Zoey's P.O.V.

When Mal told me to leave, my heart shattered. I gasped and quietly left the room.

"Hey, Zo, want to watch another movie with us?" Eric asked me as I walked by.

"No thanks. I'm leaving now."

Laurene turned to look at me. "What's wrong, hun?"

I faced them and put on a fake smile. "Nothing. Thank you for inviting me, though. Bye."

I left the house after that. Then the block, then street. Just as Mal wished. I kept walking until I found myself at the park. I ran to the slide, sat on the top, and found a few rocks sitting there next to me. Picking one up, after looking it over, I pulled my slingshot out of my back pocket and shot it at a tree. I missed; I never miss! I shot another one at a nearby stop sign and missed again. I gasped, put my slingshot down beside me, pulled my legs up, and as hugged them, I cried. I cried until there were no more tears left in my system.

I mean, did he have to go so far as to kick me out of his life? Out of Mike's life? What did I do to him, anyway? Fine, then. If he wanted to be alone, then I wont bother him anymore.

Mike's P.O.V.

I never thought I would see Zoey cry and I hurt on the inside as I watched. I could hardly believe that I was the one that was making her do it. Once again, I was pulled back inside my head, and this time, I didn't try to resist. I found myself in the Main Brain with no one around. Thank goodness; I needed to be alone. I sat on the gray couch, pulled my legs up, and put my head in my hands. I have no sense of time while I'm inside, so I had no idea how long I was sitting there. Not much later, I heard one of my personalities step up behind me. Guessing, I knew it wasn't Chester or Vito because they wouldn't care or would say I was being a baby, so it was either Manitoba Smith or Svetlana.

"Mike, vat's vong?" Svetlana. I didn't bother to look up. She walked over to the other side of the couch and sat in front of me.

"Zoey likes Mal and Mal likes Zoey." I decided to be direct.

"I know. Zat cruel boy told us."

I looked up at her. "What did he say?"

Svetlana glanced away and said, "He said he vanted to take her from you."

She looked back at me as I stood from the couch. I began to walk away, then I felt her hand on my shoulder. She turned me around to face her and gave me a hug. I accepted it and hugged her back.

She continued, "I'm so sorry Mike." I felt a tear run down my face.

Mal's P.O.V.

I stayed where I was, chest still hurting and that ginger's face still stuck on my mind. I put my elbows on my knees and my head in my hands. I felt something on my cheek and wiped it off with my finger, making it wet. Out of curiosity, I touched it to my tongue and it tasted like salt.

"What is this?"

Zoey's P.O.V.

I stayed at the park until it was so dark, I could hardly see my hands in front of me.

"Zoey! ZOEY!" I heard Mike's voice calling for me, but I didn't know if it was him or Mal acting like him. Either way, I didn't want to talk to him.

He kept calling as he was walking closer to me. When he started to pass by the slide, I ducked down low enough to where I couldn't be seen. Also, being dark, I could only make out the outline of his body and I could tell his hair was up, but I couldn't see any darkness around his eyes, or even his eyes at all. Suddenly, without being able to resist it, I sneezed.

"Zoey? Is that you?"

Mike's P.O.V.

Mal finally gave me back the control over my body when the sun was setting. I found myself in my room, sitting in the spot Zoey was in probably hours ago. I gasped, worried she wasn't dong so well. I ran through the house, looking for my parents, and found my dad laying on the floor.

"Uh- Dad?"

He turned his head to the side to look at me and smiled. "Hey, Mike! How's it goin'?"

"What are you doing?" I asked, ignoring his question.

"I dunno. Floor looked comfy." Eric turned his face back up to look at the ceiling.

Completely weirded out, I quietly backed out of the room and through the front door, saying, "Okay, well, I'll see you later. I guess..."

He shoed me away with his hand, giving me silent permission to leave. I walked to Zoey's house, thinking it would give me more time to ponder over things.

Once it became dark, I walked up her steps to her front door and knocked on it. After a minute or so of waiting, I knocked again, this time with Kenneth answering immediately.

"Mike," he started, "what's going on? Where's Zoey?"

"She's not here?"

He shook his head. "I thought she was with you. What happened?"

"I don't know... Another one of my personalities must have taken control and scared her off."

"Not many things can scare her off, son, and I know my daughter; she would never run off because you have a disorder. You better go find her, and of course I'll help, but keep in mind that I still have the gun that fits the shell in your pocket."

I pulled my eyebrows together, wondering what he meant by that. I still replied, "Yes, sir."

Kenneth nodded, saying, "You go on ahead, we can meet up later." At that, he turned and went back inside, probably to grab his jacket and keys.

I left her house to look for her. I walked all over the small town, calling her name, and a couple times I passed Kenneth in the process. I looked in every store, including Spilled Beans and Doug's Sandwich Shop, and she wasn't in any of them. A few cast mates, previous and recent, lived in town, so I checked with them and they all denied seeing her. Walking to my next location, I was thinking of where she could be and I absentmindedly put my hand in my pocket. I felt something in it and pulled it out. I opened my hand to look at it, and realized it was a shotgun shell. Odd; one of my personalities must have received it. Maybe...

"Manitoba?" I called to him.

'What's up, shrimp?' He replied.

"I need your tracking skills to find Zoey. She's seemed to have run off."

'Ya can count on me, mate.'

I allowed him to take over without a hat trigger and he put up the mirror so I could watch.

Manitoba Smith's P.O.V.

I was trying to catch my girl, Svet, with my rope, she was dodging each of my throws, when Mike called for my help.

"Well, I guess 'all see ya later, small jumper," I said, winking at her, after his call.

I took control then a deep inhale. "Ah... Nothin' like the smell of chilly air late at naght."

I gathered in my surroundings: dark, clear sky, location is the middle of a tiny city, and the land is empty. I looked to my right to find a stray dingo sniffing the ground, following some track. Once he was out of the way, I maneuvered my way over to where he was, lowered myself to the ground, and sniffed where he did. "Smells like Wawanakwa. Ha!"

I ran in the direction the dingo went until I got to the end of sidewalk, beginning the grasslands. I kneeled down, picked a piece of broken grass, and stuck it in my mouth. I stood and pointed to the northwest. "That way to the Sheila!"

'Go, Manitoba!' Mike exclaimed.

"I'm goin', I'm goin'," I replied, running off. I could hardly see a path of the broken grass, and being an expert at hunting, nobody else would have been able to notice it. I followed that path and found myself at a park. I easily saw Sheila on the solid waterfall, but I didn't tell the shrimp; that was his job.

"Alraght, mate, your turn," I proudly said, smiling.

'Thanks, buddy. This means a lot," replied Mike, taking back control.

I went back inside the head to meet the other three. Svetlana threw herself on me with a hug and congratulated me as Vito passed by giving me a high-five. Chester crossed his arms and rolled his eyes, saying, "Pfft. I could'a done that."

I smirked at him and Svet turned to look at him. "Oh, you're just jealous. Ve all know zat you vould never be able to pull zat off."

Chester raised his cane at her, saying, "That is no way to talk to your elder, little missy."

They took off, leaving me to myself. I needed to know something. I walked to the shark's room and saw him standing, facing the wall, with his hands behind his head. Since anything was possible inside the head, I pulled my rope out of my pocket, tied it up, and threw it around his body, trapping him.

"Get this thing off me," Mal growled.

"What did ya do to her, kookaburra?"

He turned to face me and repeated, "Get this. Thing. Off me."

I repeated myself, louder, "What did. Ya do. To her?"

He started wiggling, trying to get the rope off, so I pulled it tighter. He tried harder, so I again pulled it tighter.

"Get it off!" He yelled.

"No!" I yelled back. "Not 'til ya tell me what ya did to Sheila."

"Her name is Zoey," he spat, glaring at me. I glared back and tightened the rope more. He tried wiggling out again, but soon gave up, letting out a sigh of defeat. "You will regret this."

I stayed silent, glaring and waiting.

Mal rolled his eyes. "I told her to leave."

"Why?"

"Why do you care?" I pulled the rope as tight as it would go and he let out a hiss of pain.

"Why did ya tell her to leave?" I asked again.

"Because I love her! Because I have unneeded, unwanted, feelings for her! Because I care! Are you satisfied? Did you hear what you wanted to so badly hear? This whole charade needs to end, now!"

Out of surprise, I lost my grip on my end of the rope and Mal wiggled his way out. He rolled up my rope, walked over to where I was standing, put his hand that held my rope on my chest, I grabbed it, and he pushed me out of his room and slammed the door in my face.

I stood outside his door, staring wide-eyed, jaw dropped, and hands holding the rope to my chest, as I thought, 'He WHAT!?'

Mike's P.O.V.

While Manitoba Smith was hunting for Zoey, my personalities and I sat, intently, in the Main Brain watching through the mirror. Other than Mal; he stayed away from all of us, hiding in his room. I sat in the blue sofa on the right, chewing on my fingernails, Chester and Svetlana were in the far left brown sofa with their hands combined together from worry, and Vito in the middle gray one with his arms laying over the back of the sofa and one of his legs crossed over the other.

I cheered Manitoba on once he pointed to the direction she was in. After more searching, he gave me back the reigns. I glanced around, taking in my surroundings. It's that same park we were at three days ago.

I called to her with my hands cupped around my mouth, as if that actually works. "Zoey! ZOEY!"

No reply. Wait...

"Achoo!"

I perked up like a dog. "Zoey? Is that you?"

Looking around, I couldn't find her. I couldn't see anything.

"No!" She replied back.

"Uh- Zoey?" I followed her voice to the slide.

"Go away, please."

I chuckled at sat on one of the swings. "I'm not going anywhere without you."

"Why are you still here?" I heard her quietly ask.

My eyebrows pulled together. "Because you ran off and I want to bring you back."

I saw Zoey's figure stand up from hiding. "Mike, that's not what I meant."

'She meant, why am I still here with her,' I concluded. "Well, you were there for me when my personalities got in the way, so I thought that maybe I could be here for you now when my personality got in the way. Seems like a legitimate reason to go after my girlfriend, don't you think?"

"Well, yes, but-"

"Also you're upset, probably heartbroken, out of tears, and I really care about you. What else was I supposed to do?"

"You do have a point. Mike, would you hate me if I chose Mal over you?"

I chuckled again. "Aw, Zo, I could never hate you. Like I said before, if you truly believe it's the right decision, then I'll support you. I love you, Zoey."

I heard her gasp. Made sense; it was the first time I actually said it aloud to her. Through the darkness, I could see her figure get down from the slide. Instantly, she ran to me and once she was close enough, she lunged herself onto me. Zoey dug her head in my chest and I wrapped my arms around her, putting my head on hers.

"I love you, too, Mike."

I smiled and dug my face in her hair, holding her closer. "Come home," I murmured.

Zoey nodded. I let go of her so I could call Kenneth. He picked up on the second ring.

"Have you found her?" He anxiously asked.

"Yeah, I found her. She's here with me at the park."

Kenneth sighed. "Thank goodness. I'll be there soon." At that, he hung up.

I put my phone in my pocket and turned to Zoey. "Are you better now?"

She nodded and said, "Much. Mike, I'm so sorry I ran off. But you didn't have to come after me. I know my way home."

"That doesn't really matter. I did have to come after you." I winked at her. "After all, it is my job."

I pulled her in for another hug and I didn't let go until her father arrived.

"MARCO!" He called out.

"POLO!" I called back. "Over here!"

Mr. Meadows ran over to us and grabbed Zoey for his own hug. "Oh, Zo, you scared the life out of me. Don't you ever do that again!"

"I would've come home." She got out. "Eventually."

Kenneth pushed her away. "Exactly. Eventually. Come on, let's go. Mike," he turned to me.

"Yes, sir?"

Surprisingly, I got a hug from him, too. "Thank you," he said.

"Anytime," I replied.

"Would you like a ride home?"

I smiled. "Please. If you don't mind."

Kenneth took off his jacket, threw it around Zoey, and led her to their vehicle. I followed behind and opened the passenger door, Kenneth helping Zoey into the car. I shut the door and hopped in the back seat. Kenneth got in the driver's side, beginning the silent ride home.

When I walked in the front door, the house was as dark on the inside as it was on the out. I assumed my parents were already asleep, so I headed to my room myself. I laid on my bed and looked at my clock. 1:26 a.m. Groaning, I quietly said to myself, "Long day..."

Mal's P.O.V.

I decided to steal control one final time. Later in the night, almost 3 a.m., I hopped out the window. It wasn't a long drop, being the room was on the first floor. After a while of walking, I ended up at a certain ginger's house. I moved to the side of the building where her window was and made my way up to it. Looking through, I could see her figure on her bed, uncovered. Quietly, so she wouldn't wake, I opened her window and crawled in. I walked to her bed and kneeled down next to it. I brushed her hair away from her face, then sat all the way, crossing my legs and stared at her. Yes, I knew it was cheesy, but who cared? Nobody. They never knew. I stayed for a few minutes, then stood and began my way back to the window. Before I left, hand on the windowsill, I turned to look at her once more. Without thinking, I ran back over and slammed my lips against hers. She awoke with a start, and I opened my eyes to see her staring back at me. I pulled away and left before she could say anything.


End file.
